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Some ancient empires had very advanced tactics (political, military, economic, etc.), almost to the point of seeming anachronistically ahead of their time. There were also just some plain bizarre tactics that were common in the ancient world.
What do you think are interesting examples of these?
The tactics that made me think of this thread:
The Neo-Assyrian Empire had an advanced system of military intelligence with six ranks--the king, the crown prince, the king's advisers, the palace deputy, local vassals, and finally individual spies. The king could request intelligence reports from any one of his subjects who were part of the intelligence system. Meanwhile, if any of the Assyrian Empire's vassals learned of enemy movements on the other side of the border, they sent detailed reports to Nineveh. There was some level of security clearance, and governors could not send intelligence reports to members at the same level, only to higher ranking officials who reported to the king. Furthermore, the court of the Assyrian king was filled with many personalities, often foreign kings and queens in exile, or banished priests, or traders, who assisted the king in gathering information about the peripheries of the empire.
Also in the Neo-Assyrian Empire, lunar and solar eclipses played a significant part in the fortunes of the state. If eclipses matched certain visual criteria, it was considered a bad omen, which could cause civil unrest. As such, the King of Assyria would occasionally pick a political prisoner to rule as a false king for about 100 days. This false king was dressed in the garments of the king to impersonate him, but was prevented from making any drastic changes. If any unrest or rebellion occurred, the fake king would be deposed (killed), the bad omen having passed and normalcy being restored.
Furthermore, the (real) Assyrian king would also use this strategy at the akitu festival. In Babylon, the Akitu festival was a religious festival about Marduk and the start of spring. However, in the heart of Assyria, the King would march through town in the manner of a Roman triumph, praising Ashur instead of Marduk, and his chariot being pulled by political prisoners. The Akitu had basically been entirely repurposed for imperial uses. If the King was busy during the time Akitu was supposed to occur, the king's clothes could substitute for his presence, another use for the false kings, and by being present "everywhere" the king could dissuade revolt. The royal Akitu festival in the far flung corners of the empire is thought to have been one of the factors assuring Assyrian authority over its outer territories.
Sources:
Holloway, Steven Winford. Aššur is King! Aššur is King!: Religion in the Exercise of Power in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Brill, 2002.
Dezső, Tamás. "Neo-Assyrian Military Intelligence". International Congress of Assyriology and Near Eastern Archaeology. Munster, 2006.