War and Peace in Canaan”

Additional Material for “War and Peace in Canaan”

An Educational Board Game that Connects Geography with Political and Military Affairs in Ancient Israel

Charlie Trimm, Biola University (2018)

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

See as well: “’War and Peace in Canaan’: Connecting Geography with Political and Military Affairs in Ancient Israel through a Classroom Game,” Charlie Trimm, Teaching Theology and Religion, 21:4 (2018).

Along with the basic rules included in the article, I have developed a variety of other materials. This document includes strategy notes for the basic version of the game, many variations for those who desire greater detail and complexity, and scenarios that model various battles in Canaan.

Game Rules in Stages Page 2 Strategy Notes for “War and Peace in Canaan” page 10 Variations of “War and Peace in Canaan” page 12 Scenarios for “War and Peace in Canaan” page 19 Game Map page 25

1 “War and Peace in Canaan” Game Rules in Stages

While some students would find the full rules helpful, many will find them overwhelming. This document breaks down the rules into manageable pieces so that the students can know the relevant rules for each turn. The rules are divided into three sections. The first section provides a very simplified introduction to the game for the first turn. The second set of rules covers stage one of the game (this technically also covers the first turn, but I provide only the simplified version for that turn). Finally, the third set of rules covers the second stage (turns 5-6).

War and Peace in Canaan: Turn One

1. The Map

The base map has several important components. The map is east oriented, partially for practical reasons but also because the Old Testament seems to have this orientation as well (one word for “south” also commonly means “on the right side” and a word for “north” commonly means” on the left side”). The various colonies are marked by grey lines or rivers, while the six cities are represented by castles. In game terms, a region is either a colony or a city. The road extends from the bottom right corner of the map to the top left either through the King’s Highway or the International Highway (see the rules below for benefits of traveling on the road). The hills are marked on the map, but do not play a role directly in game play. The border of Ephraim with the Coastal Plain and Shephelah is impassible.

2. Goal of the Game

The goal of the game is to possess more sheep than any other city! See the current score at the bottom left of the map.

3. Acquiring Sheep

Cities gain sheep either turn automatically (see the chart on the bottom left of the map) or through possessing colonies (the number of sheep each colony provides is marked on the map).

4. Chariots and Movement

Cities begin with a certain number of chariots (marked on map in the color of your city) and acquire more chariots each turn (see chart at bottom left of map). This turn chariots may only move one spot and occupy a neighboring colony. You may send groups of chariots in different directions. In future turns chariots may move two regions (a region is a colony or a city) if the

2 first region is friendly or three regions if the first two are friendly and all three regions are on a road.

5. Combat

To conquer a colony you must send at least the same number of chariots as the sheep value of the colony (the number of sheep that the colony provides each turn). Example: Gaza must move eight or more chariots to the Coastal Plain to conquer it because that colony provides eight sheep per turn. In future turns your chariots may attack the chariots of other cities (a die is rolled for each chariot and for each 1, 2, or 3 an enemy chariot is destroyed).

6. Diplomacy

In stage one (turns 1-4), cities may make alliances, but these are non-binding. Cities can allow other cities to move their chariots through their colonies and allied cities may attack enemies together (control of the conquered colony goes entirely to the stronger ally).

War and Peace in Canaan: Stage One Rules (Turns 2-4)

1. Immediate Goal

At the end of stage one (turn four), the three cities with the most sheep will receive an extra 25 chariots. The goal of the game overall is to possess more sheep than any other city! See the current score at the bottom left of the map.

2. Couse of Play

Each turn the instructor passes out an updated version of the map to each group and they are given time to talk to other groups and decide what they will do. The students make the following decisions each turn by writing their decisions on their own copy of the map:

a. Will we buy chariots? If so, they write on their map how many they will buy. b. Will make an alliance with another city? They can send members as diplomats to talk with other groups about possible strategies. Alliances are marked on the map. c. Will we give sheep to another city? This would be done to secure an alliance and is marked on the map. d. Where will we move our chariots? They mark where each set of chariots will move and how many chariots will move. e. Will we use a special power? This is marked on the map at the specific location it will be used.

3 3. Acquiring Sheep

Cities gain sheep either turn through their home city or through possessing colonies.

4. Chariots and Movement a. Acquiring chariots

Each city has a certain amount of military power, symbolized by chariots. While chariots were mainly beneficial in open areas, they were still the symbol of military force during this time period. Each city receives a certain number of chariots per turn in their home city. Cities can never give chariots to another city.

Each city is also able to buy more chariots for the cost of two sheep during stage one (turns 1-4) and one sheep during stage two (turns 5-6). These chariots appear immediately in the home city. However, the limit of the number of chariots they are able to buy is the number of chariots they receive each turn (see chart above). In other words, they may never receive more than double the number of chariots they normally receive. Example: Tyre is only able to buy two extra chariots each turn because they receive two chariots each turn.

b. Movement of chariots

Chariots may move two regions each turn (a region is a colony or a city), but only if the first region is friendly (in other words, they may not conquer a colony and then move to another colony). To simulate the ease of movement on a highway, chariots may move three region if their entire movement is along a highway (marked by the broken black lines on the map). In sum, here are the possible options:

i. From one region to an immediately adjacent hostile region to engage an enemy. ii. Through one friendly adjacent region and then into a hostile or friendly region. iii. If all three regions are connected by roads, chariots may move through two friendly regions into a third friendly or hostile region

The solid black lines next to Ephraim may not be passed. Chariots may also not cross the Dead Sea or the Sea of Galilee.

Chariots may move one extra region as a forced march, but ¼ of the chariots will be destroyed. For example, Gaza could move twenty chariots from their home city all the way to Lower Galilee (if the Coastal Plain, Sharon Plain, and Jezreel Valley were all friendly), but five of the chariots would be destroyed.

4 5. Combat

To conquer a colony you must send at least the same number of chariots as the sheep value of the colony (the number of sheep that the colony provides each turn). In future turns your chariots may attack the chariots of other cities (a die is rolled for each chariot and for each 1, 2, or 3 an enemy chariot is destroyed).

Whenever chariots from two cities occupy the same colony, combat begins. A die is rolled for each chariot. A roll of 1-3 will result in the destruction of an enemy chariot. If enough chariots survive, a second round of battle will ensue (and so on until it becomes unwise for one side to continue fighting). When two cities mutually attack each other, the battle will happen on the frontier; the winner will have the opportunity to continue their attack.

6. Revolt

Since the colonies have been conquered by the cities, they might revolt if enough chariots are not left in the colony to intimidate the locals and put down rebellions. At the end of each turn all of the colonies are checked for rebellion. As seen in the chart below, rebellion is more likely to happen the greater the differential between the number of chariots in the colony and the sheep value of the colony. If a colony revolts, half of the chariots are destroyed and half of the chariots retreat to a friendly region. Example, if Gaza has six chariots in the Coastal Plain, then the power differential is 2 and the colony would revolt on a 2d6 roll of 2 or 3 (a 9% chance). If it did revolt, then three chariots would be destroyed and three would retreat to Gaza.

Power differential (# of % Chance of revolt Die roll needed for revolt (2d6) chariots less than sheep value) 0 0% 1 (impossible) 1 3% 2 2 9% 3 or less 3 17% 4 or less 4 28% 5 or less 5 41% 6 or less 6 57% 7 or less

7. Trade

In stage one (turns 1-4), for the sake of simulating the benefits of trade for times of peace, any turn that a city does not fight any cities receive 1.25 times the normal amount of sheep (any battle in which the city is attacked by an army of five or fewer chariots does not count). The trade benefit is cancelled in stage two (turns 5-6).

5 8. Diplomacy

9. Special abilities

Each city has their own special ability they can use at any point during the game. One time special actions can only be used once per game, not once per game stage.

Hebron: The Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 6; 1 Samuel 4-6). When Hebron uses the Ark of the Covenant, one is added to each die rolled by an enemy. They may use the Ark of the Covenant in any three battles over the course of the game.

Ammon: Child sacrifice (see the story of child sacrifice in 2 Kings 3:26-27). Ammon can use child sacrifice during any one battle during the game, and the enemy will automatically flee in terror. However, your allies are horrified by your callousness and you must give five chariots to your closest ally to placate them (closest ally would be a city that is joining in battles with Ammon against an enemy; if no city has done this then the closest ally would be a neighboring city that has not attacked Ammon).

Gaza: Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Goliath can fight in any one battle during the game. For that one battle, every die roll of the Gazan chariots will have two subtracted from it (in other words, this will usually mean that they will destroy an enemy chariot on a roll of 1-5 instead of 1-3).

Tyre: Naval trade campaign to Egypt (see the description of Tyre’s extensive trade network in Ezekiel 27). During any one turn Tyre can send a naval trade campaign to Egypt, which will provide a 2.5x bonus on their sheep intake for that turn. (This replaces rather than complements the 1.25x bonus for a peaceful turn, so it will be advantageous to send this trade campaign during a turn that involves a battle.) For the protection of the expedition Tyre must also send ten chariots (chariots are symbolic of all military forces!) from the city of Tyre with the naval expedition (those ten chariots will return in two turns).

Shechem: Blindness (see story of Elisha bringing blindness to the troops of Damascus and then feeding them in 2 Kings 6): any one time during the game Shechem can defeat an enemy by blinding them. No enemy chariots are killed, but they are all forced to retreat. However, since you feed them before they return home, you must give them five sheep.

Damascus: Divine abandonment (the enemy’s god abandons them to defeat; see YHWH’s handing over of several of Israel’s regions to Damascus because of Israel’s sin in 2 Kings 13:3). For one battle, the enemies of Damascus must roll a 1 to kill a chariot of Damascus.

War and Peace in Canaan: Stage Two Rules (Turns 5-6)

1. Couse of Play a. Will we buy chariots? If so, they write on their map how many they will buy. b. Will make an alliance with another city? They can send members as diplomats to talk with other groups about possible strategies. Alliances are marked on the map. c. Will we give sheep to another city? This would be done to secure an alliance and is marked on the map. d. Where will we move our chariots? They mark where each set of chariots will move and how many chariots will move. e. Will we use a special power? This is marked on the map at the specific location it will be used. 2. Chariots and Combat a. Chariots

Each city is able to buy more chariots for the cost of one sheep during stage two (turns 5-6). These chariots appear immediately in the home city. However, the limit of the number of chariots they are able to buy is the number of chariots that they receive each turn. For example, Tyre is only able to buy two extra chariots each turn because they receive two chariots each turn.

b. Movement of chariots

c. Combat with other cities

Enemy cities may only be attacked during stage 2 (turns 5-6). When attacking cities, a roll of 1 or 2 is required to destroy an enemy chariot. Since Hebron, Shechem, and Tyre are all in hilly areas, attackers of those cities are required to roll a 1 to destroy an enemy chariot. The conquest of a city results in the city becoming a vassal (see below).

d. Revolt

Since the colonies have been conquered by the cities, they might revolt if enough chariots are not left in the colony to put down rebellions. At the end of each turn all of the colonies are checked for rebellion. If a colony revolts, half of the chariots are destroyed and half of the

7 chariots retreat to a friendly region. Example: if Gaza has six chariots in the Coastal Plain, then the power differential is 2 and the colony would revolt on a 2d6 roll of 2 or 3 (a 9% chance).

Power differential (# of % Chance of revolt Die roll needed for revolt (2d6) chariots less than colony value) 0 0% 1 1 3% 2 2 9% 3 or less 3 17% 4 or less 4 28% 5 or less 5 41% 6 or less 6 57% 7 or less

3. Trade: The trade benefit is cancelled in stage two (turns 5-6). 4. Diplomacy

In stage two (turns 5-6), cities may become suzerains and vassals. A vassal serves a suzerain and provides tribute, while a suzerain is to protect their vassals. A city can become a vassal in two ways (a peaceful way and a violent way). First, a city can choose to become a vassal of another city by giving a gift of 20 sheep to their new suzerain. Second, a city becomes a vassal if their home city is defeated in battle. All sheep gained that turn by the defeated city go to new suzerain. If the defeated city was already a vassal of another suzerain, then that suzerain loses 30 sheep.

Each vassal must give ten sheep to their suzerain in their second turn of service.

5. Remaining Special Abilities

Each city has their own special ability they can use at any point during the game. One time special actions can only be used once per game, not once per game stage.

Gaza: Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Goliath can fight in any one battle during the game. For that one battle, every die roll of the Gazan chariots will have two subtracted from it (in other

8 words, this will usually mean that they will destroy an enemy chariot on a roll of 1-5 instead of 1-3).

6. Game End and Victory

At the end of stage two (turn six), each suzerain adds together its own sheep with the sheep of its vassal for a grand total. The mini-empire with the largest number of sheep wins the game! The rewards are as follows: ten points of extra credits to the winning suzerain, five points to their vassals, and two points to losing suzerains. Only the two vassals with the most sheep receive the extra credit. These vassals must also have become vassals peacefully rather than violently.

9 Strategy Notes for War and Peace in Canaan

I pass out these strategy notes to the various groups at the beginning of the game.

Tyre strategy

Due to the high number of sheep received each turn (and low number of chariots), Tyre can most easily win with a strategy based on trade and peace benefit (which will appear in following turns), such as we see Hiram doing with Solomon and David (1 Kings 5). Occupy the colonies closest to you (especially Lower Galilee) and try to avoid fighting anyone. An alliance is important to protect yourself, but resist their calls to help them fight (perhaps trade Damascus access to Lower Galilee in return for not helping them fight?). Damascus and Shechem are good allies (Gaza is another option, but they are rather distant). Conquering Lower Galilee on your first turn is essential. Trying to hold the Jezreel Valley on your own is suicide.

Damascus strategy

Due to their high number of chariots, Damascus can most easily win by conquering large amounts of territory, such as Ben-Hadad and other Aramean kings did during the Divided Monarchy (1 Kings 20). Target the Jezreel Valley as the outer limit of your territory (the Aramean king Hazael reached as far as the Coastal Plain!). Your choice of ally will be very important. Tyre is a natural choice. Ammon or Shechem are good choices for allies (attack whichever one you do not ally with). Another option is to ally with Gaza and collectively take over the world.

Shechem strategy

Shechem is a difficult city to play well due to the large number of choices you need to make. Since the city is in the middle of the map, you can conceivably go any direction and be an ally with anyone. The close proximity of the Jezreel Valley is tempting (and worth taking early in the game), but it will probably be futile to hold it against Gaza or Damascus during later turns. At least two allies are essential to stay alive. Potential allies include Hebron (to create an isolated and defensive highlands stronghold), Gaza or Damascus (as an attempt to join a powerhouse), Tyre (together it might be possible hold the Jezreel Valley against Gaza and Damascus), or Ammon (secure the Jordan River area).

Ammon strategy

Ammon can win the game either through peaceful or violent means. If Damascus can be deflected west toward the Jezreel Valley and if Hebron and Shechem can be contained on the other side of the Jordan River (perhaps by allying with them), Ammon can control enough colonies in Transjordan to potentially win the game without even attacking anyone. On the other hand, allying with Damascus would produce a real powerhouse that could seriously threaten Shechem and the Jezreel Valley. Allying with Gaza is another option.

10 Hebron strategy

The natural strategy for Hebron is to play defensively: take all the colonies around you and then avoid fighting as much as possible. Many Judean kings followed this pattern through the history of the Divided Monarchy. Alternatively, the “King David” route is more aggressive and could lead to victory: make alliances to defend the flanks and then attack in the other direction. Gaza is a natural ally.

Gaza strategy

Due to the high number of chariots, Gaza can most easily win by conquering large amounts of territory. Target the Jezreel Valley as the outer limit of your territory (such as the Philistines did when they defeated Saul and killed him in battle at Beth-Shean in 1 Samuel 31). Your choice of ally will be very important. Hebron is a natural choice, but they might take a defensive tactic even without the alliance with Gaza. Ammon or Shechem are good choices for allies. Another option is to ally with Damascus and collectively take over the world (but someone will have to give up the Jezreel Valley!).

11 Variations of “War and Peace in Canaan”

For those instructors who prefer more detail, the following sections provide some ideas that would enable the students to experience more depth in the game. Most of these ideas have not been play tested and would require experimentation to facilitate proper game balance.

1. Attack by an Empire (The Assyrians and Qarqar)

An additional turn can be added to the game to simulate the arrival of an empire (either Egypt from the south or Assyria from the northeast), disrupting the status quo and forcing the cities to decide how they will survive in the face of this overwhelming empire (this rule operates in a similar fashion to the barbarian attack in Cities and Knights of Catan). The cities will not be able to defeat the empire by themselves, but allied together they might be able to defeat their common enemy (as happened at the battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, when the western kings allied together against the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III).1 Each city has several options:

a. Contribute a certain number of chariots to the battle against Assyria. The players mark on their map how many chariots from each region will be devoted to defeating the Assyrian attack. The revolt rules still apply, so the players must leave enough chariots behind to put down rebellion. b. Do nothing and hope that everyone else will defend you

In general, the number of Assyrian chariots should probably be about forty to eighty, though the number can be determined by the instructor to be such that it would overwhelm one city, but would be weak enough to be defeated by four of the cities fighting together. The battle against the Assyrian chariots is conducted like a normal battle, but the damage to the allies is spread equally among the allies. The Assyrians do not have an appetite for heavy losses, so they will retreat once they are down to half of their original number of chariots.

If the Assyrians win, they will demand forty sheep from each city to make an example of those who rebel. Alternatively, the tribute demand can be lowered based on distance from Assyria (reverse the numbers if the attack is from Egypt): 40 from Damascus, 35 from Tyre, 35 from Ammon, 25 from Shechem, 20 from Hebron, and 25 from Gaza. This tends to force Damascus (or Gaza if Egypt attacks) to use diplomacy (“bribes”) to convince the other cities to contribute chariots. It is best to use this variant in the middle of a game to ensure that the loss of chariots is meaningful.

1 Primary sources from outside the Old Testament (this variant relies on Shalmaneser III’s account of the battle at Qarqar because none of the western kings left a record of the battle) can be found in many places, but will be cited here from The Context of Scripture (Hallo & Younger, Jr., 1997, pp. 2:263-64).

12 Historically, another option for the cities would be to pay tribute to Assyria before the battle, but I have found it difficult to simulate this option along with the combat against Assyria option. A similar variant would be to offer the cities the option only to offer tribute, and Assyria attacks only those cities that it deems did not offer enough tribute.

2. Summoning an Empire (The Assyrians and Ahaz)

Another variation of the previous Assyrian option is to simulate a specific city calling the Assyrians to help them against their neighbors, such as the Judean king Ahaz did against Samaria and Damascus (2 Kings 16). In that case, Assyria attacked Damascus at the invitation of Judah. This scenario would be the same as the previous scenario, except that the calling city (generally, whichever city is doing very poorly in the game) would be exempt from the call to provide tribute to Assyria or chariots to fight Assyria, but would need to initiate the call by offering a gift to the Assyrians. The Egyptians could also be enlisted as a foreign empire to help in the south (as was thought to have happened in 2 Kings 7:6). The instructor can either unilaterally decide to have the city call in the empire or can offer it as an option to the city.

3. Interference from the Empires

A less dramatic variant of the previous optional rule involves an empire taking special care of a city for their special interests. In terms of game mechanics, this would be a variant used to help a poorly performing city. However, it certainly reflects the reality of how empires sought to strengthen various buffers between them and other empires. In game terms, an appropriately sized army (about ten to twenty chariots) of Assyrians or Egyptians is supplied to the city for one turn.

Another version of this is to state that an empire is “hovering” just off the map and a certain city needs to keep a certain number of chariots in their home city to deter the empire from attacking.

4. Faithfulness to the Empire

At some points in the history of Canaan an empire ruled the area but only did so at a distance, allowing their vassals great freedom. The best example of this was the Amarna period (see the Amarna scenario below for more detail on this time period), in which the various kingdoms all claimed to be serving Pharaoh but frequently accused each other of conspiring against Pharaoh. The Amarna Letters refer to various visits by Pharaoh to the region. In this variant, each of the kingdoms sends tribute to Egypt which accumulates until Pharaoh arrives (the turn of his arrival is a surprise). The instructor may decide what Pharaoh will do when he arrives, but the king could reward the three cities who provided the most tribute and punish the three cities who provided the least.

13 5. Military Intelligence

The gathering of intelligence played an important role in warfare in the ancient Near East (Trimm, 2017, pp. 75–96). However, this is difficult to simulate due to game mechanics. One possible way to simulate intelligence gathering is to have each city pay a certain number of sheep per turn for intelligence gathering and the city that pays the most sheep is allowed to move their chariots after seeing what the other cities have decided to do. However, even this would require a way to communicate with a group between game turns, though this could perhaps be done via email.

6. Religion

The simulation of religion in a game format is very difficult. Some religious items have been included in the special abilities, but many other possibilities exist if the instructor would like to emphasize this part of life in the ancient Near East. Although it is certainly reductionistic, a religious point system could be used in which cities perform certain actions to gain religion points and then can choose how to use these points. The following are some possible ways to gain these points as well as use them. While some students will find such a mechanistic view of religion distasteful, this unease could itself lead to profitable classroom interaction on the topic of religion and how people in the ancient Near East viewed religion.

i. Gaining Religious Favor 1. Convert one chariot to a priest, each of whom will generate one religion point per turn for the rest of the game 2. Dedicate all the spoils of a battle to the deity (one religion point for three sheep) 3. Annihilate all of the population of a place and destroy their cities as a sacrifice; the region will not generate any sheep for the rest of the game (one religion point for each sheep generated in that region per turn as long as the city controls that region; the region will be worthless if conquered by another city). 4. Gifts of sheep to the deity: one religion point for five sheep ii. Using religious favor 1. Divination allows a city to see what the other cities will do before they act. The player with the most religion points allocated to divination would be able to use the skill that turn. The variant can also be used alongside the intelligence variant (in which the player using divination would always be the one able to use the skill; if multiple cities use divination then the city devoting the most religion points would be able to use the skill) 2. Deity as divine warrior. Cities may devote ten religion points to a battle to call on the divine warrior to help them in battle and cause

14 all of their die rolls to be reduced by two (similar to the Goliath special ability). 3. Message from a divine warrior. Cities may devote six religion points to call for a message from a prophet to encourage their troops and reduce all of their die rolls by one. 4. Divine weapons: a city may use twenty religion points to acquire a divine weapon from their deity. All of their die rolls in all battles thereafter in the game will be reduced by one. 7. Military Units

For simplicity’s sake, the only military units represented in the game are chariots. However, great variety could be used in this area to further reflect the complexities of warfare. The following are some of the options.

i. Infantry. The heart of ancient armies was the infantry, usually armed with spears and bows. They can only move one region (or two if on a road). ii. Chariots. The most powerful military unit in the second millennium was the chariot, which allowed armies to attack their enemies from a distance and quickly maneuver out of range. Infantry could be upgraded to chariots with a payment of one sheep per infantry unit. Chariots would be equivalent in power to two infantry units (in other words, each chariot would roll twice). iii. Siege equipment. Sieges appear to have been much more common than open field battles in the ancient Near East and required their own special tools. Siege equipment can be bought for fifteen sheep. An army attacking a city with siege equipment does not suffer from the penalty for attacking cities of adding one to each die roll. iv. Boats. Naval battle was uncommon in the area of Canaan, but building boats could allow easier movement along the coast. Boats cost one sheep and can move three chariots anywhere along the Mediterranean coast. 8. Food

One variation to simulate the complexities of the economy involves requiring each city to feed their people (inspired by such games as Agricola and Stone Age). Each region would be assigned numbers reflecting their crop production (in this scenario the sheep value would be converted to a trade value). All of the regions under a city’s control, along with their chariots, would then need to be fed by these crops (at one crop per chariot and three crops per region). Food can be bought from other countries. The table below provides one estimate of these values. This will be particularly important for Tyre, which historically had very little fertile area and was required to buy food from other cities (1 Kings 5:11).

15 Region Trade Crop Production Tyre 12 1 Upper Galilee 1 2 Dan 6 3 Damascus 9 5 Asher 3 3 Mt. Carmel 3 2 Lower Galilee 8 6 Bashan 5 6 Jezreel Valley 10 15 Beth-Shean 5 9 Gilead 8 7 Sharon Plain 7 6 Shechem 6 6 Manasseh 5 6 Ephraim 1 4 Jericho 4 3 Plains of Moab 3 3 Ammon 7 6 Coastal Plain 7 6 Shephelah 4 9 Central Benjamin Plateau 3 8 Medeba Plateau 5 7 Hebron 2 6 Moab 5 6 Gaza 4 7 Beersheba 7 5 Arad 4 4 Edom 4 4 Kadesh-Barnea 1 0 Wilderness of Zin 1 0

9. Economic Models

The representation of the economy of Canaan solely as sheep is clearly reductionistic. If the instructor wished to focus more on economic issues, they could employ a variety of special rules. For example, one option would be to differentiate between pastoral versus urban economies. Since the game already has six urban centers marked on the map, the game board easily differentiates between urban and pastoral areas (though it would need to be made clear that in reality other cities besides these six existed). The regions (signifying pastoral areas) would provide animals and crops, while the urban areas provide luxury trade good and military items. Each of these items could have a different value which could then contribute to an overall

16 point total. Alternatively, the various products could have different functions (such as the variation requiring crops as food).

10. Secret Victory Conditions

For this variant provide each city (or only some cities) with a secret victory condition. If they fulfill this condition, then they gain a certain number of extra sheep at the end of the game. The simplest way to do this will be a requirement to hold a certain region at the end of the game (such as the Jezreel Valley for Damascus or Gaza). This variant can be used effectively to force students to follow the path of history (such as the use of the variant in the Qarqar scenario to force Ammon to attack Arad, as they did in 2 Chronicles 20).

11. Event Deck

One way both to introduce more variety into the game and to simulate more aspects of life in the ancient Near East is through an event deck. Before each turn, an event card is drawn that affects play in some way. The drawing of these cards could be random, or they could be used to balance the game at the instructor’s discretion. To keep the decision random but still make certain events more likely the instructor can include multiple copies of some cards. The following are some possible example events.

i. Bad weather. The highway benefit is removed for the turn. ii. Coups. All cities must leave a certain number of chariots in their home city to prevent a coup. iii. Earthquake. No new chariots are produced this turn because of the damage to the cities. iv. Invasion of desert nomads. The Amalekites and other nomads sometimes attacked areas next to the desert (1 Sam 30:1). Possible results of the card could be the simulation of a nomad attack, the prohibition of moving any chariots next to the southern or eastern edge of the map, or the requirement that Damascus, Ammon, and Gaza all leave a certain number of troops in their home city. v. Pirates. Similar to the invasion of the nomads, but affecting the coastal areas. vi. Help from Egypt. Egypt is interested in gaining more of a foothold in the area, so they send chariots to help Gaza or Ammon or Hebron (or all three). vii. Help from Assyria. Assyrian is interested in gaining more of a foothold in the area, so they send chariots to help Damascus, Tyre, or Shechem (or all three). viii. Good weather and productive crops: all regions produce double the normal amount of sheep this turn

17 ix. Discouragement among the soldiers: all cities lose four chariots due to desertion x. Extra trade: the trade benefit is 2x this turn rather than the normal 1.25x. xi. Technological breakthrough: chariots now cost one sheep instead of two. xii. Queen of Sheba: the Queen of Sheba visits one of the cities and provides them with thirty sheep.

12. Arranged Marriages

This variation provides a way for the alliances in the game (especially the suzerain/vassal relationships) to become more concrete in class terms, but it will only work if the students are in their groups on a regular basis in the class. Historically, alliances were often sealed through arranged marriages, in which a prince or princess of one country married a prince or princess of the other country (or the king himself in certain cases). When two groups make an alliance in the game, they elect one of their members to sit with their new allies not only during game time but also whenever the class meets. These students are allowed to return to their old groups when the alliance ends. To ensure that they have the interests of both groups in mind, these “married” students receive half the individual rewards (such as any possible extra credit) from each of their groups.

18 Scenarios for “War and Peace in Canaan”

The board and the base game allow the instructor to simulate various specific events. These scenarios can be used either as the base for a game or for classroom instruction. Information for the starting maps for each of these scenarios is included below.

1. Thutmose III and Megiddo

Although previous Pharaohs had campaigned in Canaan and Syria, Thutmose III was the first to seek to control the area permanently. In his first campaign he marched north along the coast of Canaan until he reached Mount Carmel, the great speed bump of the international highway. He sought guidance from his generals about the best way to cross the mountain range, but rejected their cautious counsel and rushed straight ahead through the Megiddo pass, encountering the Canaanite army in the plain.2 If the Egyptian army had ten thousand men, then their hundred chariots in the game would each represent one hundred men.3

The Egyptians begin in Gaza with their army and receive no new chariots except for those they buy (which means that it is in their best interest to end the game as soon as possible). Their goal is to conquer Megiddo (Jezreel Valley), destroy eighty chariots of the Canaanites, or take three of the other cities as vassals. The Egyptians can move only one spot per turn for the first three turns to simulate their lack of knowledge of the area. The Egyptians must also always stay on the road as well for the first three turns (they rarely left the highways in Canaan).

The Canaanites collective goal is to prevent the Egyptians from winning. Every city must send at least ten chariots to defend the Jezreel Valley. However, they are still scrambling for superiority within that victory (normal victory conditions still apply) and they may attack their neighbor if they think that they can win and still defeat the Egyptians. It is probably best for the professor to play Egypt.

Starting map: Egyptians (in Gaza): 100 chariots; Hebron: 20 chariots; Ammon: 20 chariots; Shechem: 20 chariots; Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 25 chariots

2 Our knowledge of this battle is indebted to the Egyptian account (Hallo & Younger, Jr., 1997, pp. 2:9-11). 3 It is difficult to ascertain specific numbers for the size of armies in the ancient Near East, so I have not provided in general a correlation between the number of chariots in the game and the specific size of actual armies. I have compiled information on the size of armies elsewhere (Trimm, 2017, pp. 461–473).

19 2. Amarna Kingdoms

The Amarna Letters (Moran, 1992; Rainey, 2015) are a trove of letters from local Canaanite kings to the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaton in the 14th century (they were found in el- Amarna in Egypt, where Akhenaton had built a palace). These letters portray many small kingdoms competing with other for superiority, all under the rule of Egypt. All of the major cities in the game are represented in the letters with a few exceptions. Hebron will need to change its name to Jerusalem. The major difference is in Transjordan, as the Ammonites, Moabites, and Edomites do not appear in the Amarna Letters. However, Pehel can serve as a kingdom on the east bank of the Jordan, though it will need to be put in Gilead (given its proximity to Shechem and Damascus, it would be best to only allow them to moves south on the first turn). The sheep value of the regions east of the Dead Sea will also need to be lowered to reflect the lack of intensive settlement in these areas (Ammon, Medeba Plateau, Moab, and Edom will each be worth three sheep). Abdi-Heba of Jerusalem and Labayu of Shechem were powerful kings and so have been given large armies at the beginning of the game. Students rarely know anything about this time period, so they could write papers on the role of their city in the Amarna Letters as part of the connection of the game to the class.

Since all of the Amarna kingdoms claimed to serve Pharaoh faithfully but many of them accused their fellow kings of conspiring against Pharaoh, the faithfulness to the emperor variant could be used profitably in this scenario.

Starting map: Gaza: 20 chariots; Hebron: 30 chariots; Ammon: 20 chariots; Shechem: 40 chariots; Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 20 chariots

3. The Defeat of Philistia

At the death of Saul the land of Canaan was dominated by the Philistines. Not only did they continue to rule their land on the coast, they controlled the highway as far as Beth-Shean (1 Samuel 31). The other cities must decide how they are going to defeat this dominant force while not granting their neighbors superiority. Normal victory conditions are in force, except that Gaza can only win the game if they can keep the Jezreel Valley. Example: if Gaza is in first place at the end of the fourth round but do not control the Jezreel Valley, they do not get the 25 extra chariots (the fourth placed city receives them).

Gaza may not move any chariots on the first turn. The other cities may not attack any chariots of Gaza on the first turn.

Starting map: Gaza: 20 chariots (plus 10 chariots each in Beersheba, Coastal Plain, Sharon Plain, Jezreel Valley, and Beth-Shean); Hebron: 20 chariots; Ammon: 16 chariots; Shechem: 15 chariots; Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 20 chariots.

4. The Rise of David

This scenario is set up like the previous, but the focus is now on David’s rise. The Philistines continue to dominate the International Highway as far as Beth-Shean (as demonstrated by the story in 1 Samuel 31), but Judean men are flocking to David. This scenario could be a good opportunity to use the religion variant and grant David (Hebron) fewer chariots but a significant number of religion points from the beginning. David (Hebron) wins the game if he ends in first place; the other cities win if they prevent this from happening. However, the rewards for this victory are only given to the top two cities.

Starting map: Gaza: 20 chariots (plus 10 chariots each in Beersheba, Coastal Plain, Sharon Plain, Jezreel Valley, and Beth-Shean); Hebron: 80 chariots; Ammon: 16 chariots; Shechem: 15 chariots; Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 20 chariots

5. The Division of the Kingdom

At the death of Solomon, everyone in the area was a vassal to Judah. However, his death and the coronation of Rehoboam led to rebellion on a variety of fronts. Most prominent among these was the rebellion of Israel under Jeroboam. To simulate this situation, as the game begins everyone is a vassal to Hebron. Shechem must rebel against Hebron (and will need to try to convince at least one or two others to rebel with them), while everyone else has the option of when they want to rebel against Hebron. As long as they are vassals, Hebron must continue to defend them. The instructor can decide what that means in game terms, but one possibility is to allow the vassal to use the ten Hebron chariots stationed in their city as long as they remain within one region of their home city and they have permission from Hebron for each attack. This would provide real benefit for them to stay a vassal as they continue to send sheep every turn to their suzerain. Rebelling against Hebron involves defeating the Hebron troops in one’s capital. Shishak’s campaign could be a random event in this game as an attack by an empire variant. A good use of a secret victory condition would be that Hebron must make Shechem a vassal by the end of the game in order to win (or they receive a sheep bonus).

Starting map: Gaza: 20 chariots; Hebron: 70 chariots (plus 10 chariots in each of the other cities); Ammon: 20 chariots; Shechem: 45 chariots; Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 20 chariots.

21 6. Asa, Baasha, and Ben-Hadad I

Shortly after the beginning of the Divided Monarchy, the Israelite king Baasha conquered Ramah (in the Central Benjamin Plateau), threatening the border of Judah (1 Kings 15:16-22). Not being militarily strong enough to defeat Israel, the Judean king Asa sent money to Ben- Hadad I to convince him to break his treaty with the Israelites and relieve the pressure on Judah. Ben-Hadad I agreed and conquered the regions of Dan, Upper Galilee, and Lower Galilee. Baasha withdrew his troops from the Central Benjamin Plateau and ceded the area to Judah, who proceeded to tear down the fortifications in the southern side of the plateau built by Israel and move them to the northern side. This scenario is not extensive enough to support an entire game, but illustrates well the basis of the game in international politics of the time and could be used as an in-class example.

Starting map: Gaza: 15 chariots; Hebron: 20 chariots (plus 5 chariots in Shephelah); Ammon: 16 chariots (plus 10 chariots each in Gilead and Plains of Moab); Shechem: 5 chariots (plus 30 chariots in Central Benjamin Plateau, 10 chariots each in Dan, and Lower Galilee and 5 chariots each in Upper Galilee, Manasseh, Ephraim, and Jericho); Tyre: 25 chariots; Damascus: 45 chariots (plus 10 chariots in Bashan)

Map of Second Turn: Damascus attacks Dan with 40 chariots; Shechem moves 30 chariots from Central Benjamin Plateau to Manasseh.

Map of Third Turn: Damascus attacks Upper Galilee with 10 chariots and Lower Galilee with 20 chariots; Shechem moves 30 chariots north from Manasseh, putting 15 each in the Jezreel Valley and in Beth-Shean.

7. Qarqar

1 Kings records a series of battles between the Israelite king Ahab and the Aramean king Ben-Hadad II of Damascus (1 Kings 20; 22). In the first round of battles in 856 BC, Ben-Hadad II attacked Samaria itself, but was defeated when a sortie attacked the Aramean army while they were drinking (1 Kings 20:1-22). Convinced that he had been defeated because the god of Israel was a god of the mountains, he attacked again but focused his armies on Aphek (to the east of the Sea of Galilee). However, he was defeated there as well (1 Kings 20:23-30). Three years of peace followed these battles (1 Kings 22:1) due to the attack of Shalmaneser III (not recorded in Scripture). The western kings banded together and defeated the Assyrian king at Qarqar (in western Syria) in 853 (see description above in the attack by an empire variant). This alliance did not last long, however, as Aram attacked Israelites and Judean forces at Ramoth-Gilead that same year, leading to the death of Ahab (2 Kings 22), which then led to an attack by the Moabites and Ammonites on the weakened Judah (2 Chronicles 20).

22 In game terms, it would be best to begin the game in the middle of 1 Kings 20. Describe the recent history and require Damascus to attack Bashan on their first turn. Give Gilead to Shechem, require them to keep it if possible (impose a sheep penalty if they lose it) and prevent Ammon from attacking early in the game (direct them to the south). Exercise the Assyria variant halfway through the game, and then require Damascus to attack Gilead in the turn after the Assyrian attack. Hebron and Shechem must be allies the entire game, while Damascus and Ammon must also be allies. Ammon must attack Arad at some point late in the game (this might be a good use of the secret victory condition variant). For the sake of game mechanics it will probably be best to require Gaza to ally with Shechem to avoid Shechem being overwhelmed by two superpowers.

Starting map: Gaza: 15 chariots (plus 8 sheep in the Coastal Plain); Hebron: 25 chariots (plus 5 chariots in the Central Benjamin Plateau); Ammon: 16 chariots (plus 10 chariots in the Plains of Moab and 5 each in the Medeba Plateau and Moab); Shechem: 5 chariots (plus 10 chariots each in Jezreel Valley, Beth-Shean, Gilead, and Bashan and 5 chariots each in Manasseh and Ephraim); Tyre: 15 chariots; Damascus: 25 chariots (plus 10 chariots in Dan)

8. Hazael and the Decline of Aram

Hazael became king of Aram-Damascus at the instigation of Elisha, murdering Ben- Hadad II in a coup in about 843 (2 Kings 8:7-15). He went on to dominate the land of Canaan, beginning with defeating a Judean-Israelite army at Ramoth-Gilead (2 Kings 8:28-29) that led to the coup of Jehu (2 Kings 9). After this victory he conquered most of Transjordan to the Arnon (2 Kings 10:32-33), captured Gath on the International Highway in Philistia (2 Kings 12:17) and forced Judah to give him tribute (2 Kings 12:18).

However, after the death of Hazael in 800 and the rise to power of his son Ben-Hadad III, the fortunes of Aram began to fall. The author of Kings records that a “rescuer” allowed the Israelites some measure of freedom, which probably refers to an Assyrian attack on Damascus (2 Kings 13:5). Eventually Israel was able to retake the cities conquered by Hazael in three battles (2 Kings 13:24-25), which were probably in Bashan and Gilead at Aphek (2 Kings 13:17), Karnaim, and Lo-debar (Amos 6:13). Ben-Hadad was further distracted by his attack on Zakkur, the king of Hamath, and weakened by another Assyrian attack by Adad-Nirari in 796 (though the Assyrian king also took tribute from Israel in this campaign). These battles are recorded in the Zakkur Inscription (Hallo & Younger, Jr., 1997, p. 2:155) and the inscriptions of Adad-Nirari (Hallo & Younger, Jr., 1997, pp. 2:272-77) respectively. The Judeans recaptured Edom, but were devastated in a battle against Israel (2 Chronicles 25). They were also able to control parts of Philistia (2 Chronicles 26:6-7) and the Ammonites paid him tribute (2 Chr 26:8). Eventually Israel (under Jeroboam II) was able to control all the land to Lebo-Hamath (2 Kings 14:25), completely dominating Damascus.

23 To simulate this situation, as the game begins everyone is a vassal to Damascus. Shechem must rebel against Damascus the first turn, while everyone else has the option of when they want to rebel against them. An Assyrian attack of forty chariots against Damascus should also happen on the first turn. As long as the other cities are vassals, Damascus must continue to defend them. Rebelling against Damascus involves defeating the Damascus troops in one’s capital. The other cities compete for who will be the strongest competitor to Damascus. The third turn Damascus must send a certain number of troops (20?) off the map to attack Zakkur; half of them will be returned in two turns after their defeat at the hands of Zakkur. Secret victory conditions include the following: Shechem will receive a sheep bonus if they hold either Gilead or Bashan at the end of the game and Hebron can only win if they hold Edom.

Starting map: Gaza: 25 chariots; Hebron: 30 chariots (plus 5 chariots in the Central Benjamin Plateau); Ammon: 25 chariots; Shechem: 35 chariots; Tyre: 20 chariots; Damascus: 10 chariots (plus 10 chariots each in Dan, Bashan, Beth-Shean, Jezreel Valley, Sharon Plain, Coastal Plain, Gilead, and each of the five other cities and 5 chariots each in Medeba Plateau, Plains of Moab, and Jericho).

Bibliography Hallo, W. W., & Younger, Jr., K. L. (Eds.). (1997). Context of Scripture (Vols. 1–3). Leiden: Brill. Moran, W. L. (Ed.). (1992). The Amarna Letters. (W. L. Moran, Trans.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Rainey, A. F. (2015). The El-Amarna Correspondence: A New Edition of the Cuneiform Letters from the Site of El-Amarna based on Collations of all Extant Tablets. (W. Schniedewind & Z. Cochavi-Rainey, Eds.) (Vols. 1–2). Leiden: Brill. Trimm, C. (2017). Fighting for the King and the Gods: A Survey of Warfare in the Ancient Near East. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature.

24 Game Map

An editable version of the map can be downloaded (https://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/wp- content/uploads/2018/08/resource_ppt_Trimm_War_and_Peace_in_Cannan_Game_Map.pptx).