My original title for this post was “Iphicrates, peltasts, thureophoroi, phalangites, and shielded cavalry”. Iphicrates was a leader of mercenary peltasts and is attributed with creating, or at least inspiring, both the Greek thureophoroi and the Macedonian phalangite. I keep reading bits and pieces about this but they are like a pieces of jigsaw puzzle scattered over the table. Reading about thureophoroi lead me to reading about other troops: Illyrians; the Thracians with their rhomphaia; Thracian cavalry shields (using them before the Greeks); and Macedonian cavalry shields. I thought a timeline for military innovation across the Macedonian Wars would help to position the various bits in relation to each other.
The timeline covers the period up to the general adoption of the Macedonian phalanx including the encounters between Pyrrhus’s phalanx and the Roman legions. Obviously it covers explicit mentions of Iphicrates, peltasts, mercenaries, thureophoroi, phalangites, and shielded cavalry, but it also covers Macedon’s neighbours Greece, Epirus, Illyria and Thrace. The Greeks, Epirotes and Illyrians all invaded Italy at one time or another so the timeline also has to cover elements of Italian history as well. This is not a complete timeline, just an attempt to map out the pieces of the puzzle.
11th Century BC
Illyrian Iapygian tribes migrated from the Balkans to Apulia in the southeast of the Italian Peninsula (Wikipedia: Messapic Language). This might have been the 11th Century BC or could have been later; Iapygian–Tarentine wars says 1000 BC-900 BC. They formed a distinct cultural and linguistic group until the 2nd Century BC.
8th Century BC
Various Greek city states founded colonies on the coast around the Mediterranean and Black Sea. That include southern Italy (Wikipedia: Magna Graecia) and on the Thrace (Wikipedia: Thracians).
The classic hoplite shield appeared (Warry, 1980).
The term “phalanx” is used in poetry in a general, nontechnical, sense (Echeverría, 2012). Apparently, its original meaning referred to a long a solid segment of any material. That suggests it’s original meaning was an “elongated segment”. Phalanxes were described as “compact” or “dense” and could “push” or “shove” one another.
706-330 BC
The three Iapygian peoples (Illyrian) of southeast Italy – the Messapians, Peucetians and Daunians – fought a set of conflicts against the new Spartan colony of Taras (Iapygian–Tarentine wars). These conflicts only ceased when the the two sides united against a common enemy: Rome.
6th Century BC
Thracian armies comprised cavalry, peltasts, and light infantry (javelin-men, archers and slingers) (Webber, 2011). The different tribes specialised in different arms.
Cavalry contributed a high percentage of Thracian armies (Webber, 2011). The Getai and other tribes from the plains focussed on this arm. Most were unshielded javelinmen. Some Thracian light cavalry carried a pelta like the infantry, although the heavy cavalry did not until the general adoption of cavalry shields in the 2nd Century. The Getai carried bows. Thracian cavalrymen were a known sight in Greece and inspired artistic works.
The majority of Thracian infantry were already fighting as peltasts, armed with thrusting spears or several javelins, sword or dagger, and a small shield called a pelta (Head, 1982; Webber, 2011). The original pelta, hence peltast, was usually crescent shaped but could be round. Xenophon mentions this type still in use in the early 4th Century BC.
At some point the Thracian cavalry adopted the Scythian cavalry wedge Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare. I assume it was early.
540-525 BC
The Greeks viewed cavalry shields as a foreign innovation, specifically Thracian (Nefedkin, 2009; Webber, 2011). Thracians were known to fight on horseback using a light wicker pelta. Clement of Alexandria’s Stromata asserts the Thracians were the first to use shields on horseback. Northern Greek reliefs show this Thracian influence, for example, a terracotta relief from Thasos (540-525 BC), the northern most Greek island in the Aegean Sea, shows cavalrymen with convex round wicker shields. Contrast this early date with Head’s (1982) view that the Thracians, Illyrians and Greeks all adopted the cavalry shield at the same time, after the end of the Pyrrhic War in 275 BC.
510 BC
A vase from Capania, dated 510 BC, shows three cavalrymen wearing Phrygian-style hats and long cloaks, with no trousers, and arms with a javelin and pelta (Webber, 2011). They could be either Skythian or Thracian and the Italiote potter probably didn’t care. Vases manufactured around Thrace showed cavalry with shields. But only some Thracian cavalry used shields, others did not. This may have been tribal. Illustrations sometimes show cavalry shields strapped to the man’s back. This may be to protect the rider when after they have thrown their javelins and are riding away, a practice used by the the Thracian peltasts.
500 BC
Hoplites had replaced their metal body armour with padded linen (Everson, 2004)
5th Century BC
The term “phalanx” does not appear in fifth-century Greek literature (Echeverría, 2012).
By this date, at latest, the northern Illyrian tribes were using oval and rectangular shields although the southerners carried round shields (Head, 1982). These early Illyrians skirmished like Thracian peltasts. Weapons were spear, javelins, sword and light axe. A variety of swords were used but the distinctively Illyrian weapon was a curved-tip sword called a sica which had a cutting blade on the inside; although originating in Illyria it spread all over the Balkans and used later by the Romans (Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare). The only armour was a helmet, including Italian, Greek and native Illyrian types. Head claims a close connection between Illyria and northern Italy.
The Thracians adopted the sica as a national weapon (Wikpedia: Thracian Warfare). [Note: Wikpedia: Thracian Warfare attributes the sica to the Celts, but I don’t know of any other source that gives them backward curved swords. They favoured long double edged slashing weapons.]
Webber (2011) describes the 5th Century gold ring from Tumulus No. 1, Chernozem, near Plodiv in Bulgaria. Webber says, “This then becomes either the only known dicition of a pelte found in a Fracian site or (more likely) the earliest-known picture of a Thracian ribbed shield and forerunner of the thureos” (p. 52).
The Thracian or Phrygian helmet appeared in Greece middle of the 5th Century BC (Webber, 2011).
Italian cavalry appear to have used shields in the 5th Century BC (Head, 1982). The Italiote Greeks were playing Anabates, a sporting event featuring a race for horsemen carrying small shields. Roman cavalry were using a small oxhide shield (parma equestris). Head speculates this had a flat rim and convex centre.
492-449 BC
Greco-Persian Wars fought by Greek states and Persia .
4th Century BC
The 4th Century BC saw big changes. The Celts arrived in the northern Balkans. In Greece the term “phalanx” became a literary concept although it still was not a technical term. Peltasts, both Thracian and imitators, became the main mercenaries in the Greek world. Illyrians began to favour close combat and adopted the spear and thureos (a long and narrow oval shield with boss and vertical spine). The Thracian peltasts began using heavier equipment including helmet, greaves and possibly the thureos.
Echeverría (2012) attributes Xenophon with the creation of the the phalanx as a literary concept. Xenophon used the term to express the idea of “drawing up the army in battle order”, although he specifically meant the body of Greek heavy infantrymen (hoplites) deployed in lines, usually in the centre of the battle line, with a wide longitudinal front, and variable depth. Xenophon consistently uses the term phalanx in the singular, implying a single, coherent, and unitary formation (although could be separated into subunits with some freedom of action). Xenophon emphasised the phalanx’s cohesion, describe it as “deep”, “dense”, or “solid”. Echeverría notes that phalanx was, however, sometimes used in other contexts, for example referring to cavalry and even to Persians. This suggests phalanx was not yet a technical term and Echeverría suggests it was still a metaphor of an ordered formation, an abstract scheme of a tactical disposition that could be transferred to different situations and contexts.
From the 4th century BC, Celts moved into the Carpathian region, the Danube basin, and Italy (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe). This must have put them into contact with the Illyrians and Thracians to the south.
Also during the 4th Century BC, spears became more prevalent amongst the Illyrians as they began to favour close combat (Head, 1982). Some Illyrians adopted the Celtic oblong shield with an iron boss; this was distinct from the existing Illyrian oval shield used in the north (Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare).
The Thracian infantry also seemed to gear up for close combat. Thracian warriors, both peltasts and cavalry, began to wear helmets (Webber, 2011). These included Chalcidian, Corinthian, Phrygian, Attic and Scythian and many hybrid types. Thracians used a variety of sword styles and some adopted long straight swords. Some Thracian peltasts adopted greaves, something that wasn’t true in earlier centuries. But more significantly they began to carry rhomphaia in place of spears. Although previously nobles and the royal guard might have worn leather or bronze armour, from the 4th Century, iron armour began to appear. Webber says Illryian helmets were used in the 6th Century BC, but Wikipedia: Thracian Warfare says no Illyrian type helmets has been found in the east Balkans.
Although hoplites were the main Greek heavy infantry, peltasts became the main type of Greek mercenary infantry in the 4th century BC (Wikipedia: Peltast). The style of fighting used by peltasts originated in Thrace, and the first Greek peltasts were recruited from the Greek cities of the Thracian coast. They skirmished and were equipped with javelins and a small shield.
Webber (2011) says “vertically striped tunics became all the rage during the fourth century in this general part of the world”, meaning Thrace and locations nearby (p. 33). [One of the books … must find it again … suggested the striped tunic was Thracian in original but came to indicate a mercenary through the Hellenistic world. The idea being that Thracian mercenaries wore national costume, which at this time was a striped tunic. So striped tunic became associated with peltast mercenaries regardless or origin. Ditto for the subsequent thureophoroi.]
Through the 4th and 3rd Centuries BC, Greek cavalry were largely unshielded (Head, 1982). The Tarantines of southern Italy were an exception.
391-378 BC
Iphicrates, the Athenian general and reformer of the Greek peltast, was on active service in Greece, Thrace and Egypt (Wikipedia: Iphicrates). The Iphicratian peltast had a small oval shield, a long spear, a long sword, and special boots. The size is relative to the equipment of hoplites. The new pelta was smaller than a hoplite shield. The spear was 50% longer and the sword twice as long. There is some debate about when the reforms happened.
In one of his expeditions to Thrace (387 BC, 371 BC) Iphicrates had 8,000 men (Webber, 2011). Webber suggests that what the Thracian kings needed was hoplites as they already had ample skirmishing troops – their own peltasts. So Webber believes the majority of mercenaries were hoplites. Alternatively, this might be the rationale for the Iphicratian peltast … in lieu of hoplites, to provide his Thracian hosts with heavy infantry.
390-392 BC
Iphicrates used old style peltasts to defeat a Spartan mora at the Battle of Lechaeum near Corinth (Wikipedia: Iphicrates).
387 BC
Iphicrates was fighting in Thrace (Wikipedia: Iphicrates). He was assisting the Athenian ally, Seuthes, king of Thracian Odrysae, to recover his kingdom. The opponent was another Thracian king, Cotys, with whom he subsequently formed an alliance. This might be when he married Cotys’s daughter.
382 BC
Prince Philip of Macedon was born (Wikipedia: Philip II of Macedon).
380-345 BC
Tarantines already had shielded light cavalry (Head, 1982). The early shields were small, being only 45cm in diameter. Later shields were much larger.
378 BC
Iphicrates took a force of mercenaries to Egypt to fight for the Persians (Wikipedia: Iphicrates). AskHistorians Podcast 081 – Iphikrates and His Reforms suggests reforms, such as they were, were made in Egypt, which ties to “after he had acquired his long experience of military operations in the Persian War, he devised many improvements”.
371 BC
Iphicrates returned to Thrace and helped his father-in-law Cotys I against Athens (Wikipedia: Iphicrates). They were fighting over the Thracian Chersonese.
c. 368–365 BC
Prince Philip of Macedon was a hostage in Thebes (Wikipedia: Philip II of Macedon). There Philip received a military and diplomatic education from Epaminondas, and lived with Pammenes, who was an enthusiastic advocate of the Sacred Band of Thebes.
359 BC
When King Perdiccas III died in battle against the Illyrians, his younger brother Prince Philip became King Philip II of Macedon (Wikipedia: Philip II of Macedon). The same year the Paeonians and the Thracians invaded and pillaged the eastern regions of Macedonia. Philip paid tribute to get them to leave. Philip also defeated the Macedonian pretender Argaeus II who had landed at Methoni on the coast with 3,000 Athenians.
357 BC
Having invade Illyria, Philip of Macedon defeated an Illyrian force killing about 7,000 Illyrians (Wikipedia: Philip II of Macedon). His success gained Philip favour with the Epirotes and he married the Molossian (Epirote) princess Olympias, niece of Arybbas of Epirus (Epirus). She was his fourth wife and became the mother of Alexander the Great.
356-552 BC
A bronze coin of Ketriporis from 356-552 BC shows a Thracian with an elliptical shield suspended on a strap (Webber, 2011). The 4th Century Kazanluk friezes include several Thracian warriors using long flat oval shields. One of those shields is ribbed like a thureos. This is roughly 80 years before the big Celtic invasions of Greece and Thrace. One of the Kazanluk figures has an two javelins, an oval shield, and a rhomphaia.
350 BC (or earlier)
Rhomphaia were in use in or near the Dii territory from 350 BC or perhaps before (Webber, 2011). The Dii were known as “swordsmen” and it is possible some of these swordsmen were equipped with rhomphaia.
348 BC
By this date, the Thracians seemed to have changed their equipment (Head, 1982). According to Head the Thracians had adopted the theureos before the Celtic invasions. Apparently the Thracians were using two oval shields, a lighter rimless shield and the heavier theureos with an iron rim (Wikpedia: Thracian Warfare). The Thracian theureos came in both the oval or rectangular shapes.
A Thracian weapon dated 348 BC, likely a rhomphaia, was lost at Olynthos on the Thracian coast. The adoption of the rhomphaia would explain the decline of the long spear amongst the Thracians. Thracians still carried javelins with the new weapon. Swords could be the distinctive Thracian type, i.e. curved with the cutting blade on the inside; like a short rhomphaia. They now wore helmets in place of the traditional fox skin cap.
338 BC
At the Battle of Chaeronea the Macedonians under Philip II defeated an alliance of city-states led by Athens and Thebes. Chaeronea was the first recorded instance of the Macedonian infantry using the sarissa (pike) and pelta (small shield) (Head, 1982) – the first troops Armed in the Macedonian fashion. This change was apparently a result of Iphricrates’s reforms. Some later Macedonian pikemen were referred to as peltasts because of their small shield, thus undermining the original meaning of “peltast” as a light skirmisher. [Some modern scholars still get hung up on that and claim Macedonian “peltasts” must have been light skirmishers rather than phalangites. I find that bizarre.]
335 BC
The Celts sent representatives to pay homage to Alexander the Great, while Macedon was engaged in wars against Thracians on its northern border (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe).
Alexander the Great defeated and subjugated the Illyrians in the battle of Pelium (Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare).
334 BC
Alexander the Great crossed the Hellespont with his new style Macedonian army (Sekunda, 1984). Phalanx Armed in the Macedonian fashion. Shieldless companion cavalry with long xysta. He, and most of his many, never returned.
331 BC
Having invaded Italy, King Alexander of Epirus was killed in battle against several Italic tribes in the Battle of Pandosia (Epirus).
326 BC
Thracians at the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BC) chopped at the trunks of elephants and hacked off the elephant’s feet (Webber, 2011). Whatever these “sickle-like swords” are called in the sources (“kopides”), these Thracians were probably using rhomphaia
323 BC
Having conquered the Persian Empire, reached India, and then returned to Persia, Alexander the Great died of fever (Sekunda, 1984).
In Alexander’s army the companion cavalry armed with xysta (Head, 1982). At this time Greek cavalry were still shieldless javelinmen, even in Alexander’s army. Subsequently many of the Hellenistic states adopted the long Macedonian xysta: Pergamene, Ptolemaic, early Seleucid, later Achaian, and possibly Athenian. The Seleucids called this troop type xystophoroi, after the weapon.
During the reigns of Philip II and Alexander III, the Macedonian companion cavalry owned shields (Nefedkin, 2009) but did not use them mounted (Head, 1982; Sekunda, 1984). There are several bits of evidence for Alexander’s companion’s having shields, but the most explicit is the incident during his campaign against the Illyrian Taulantians (Arrian Anabasis 1.6.5) where the king “ordered his bodyguards and the Companions with him to take their shields, mount and charge the hill; on reaching it, supposing those who held it should stand their ground, half were to dismount and, mingling with the cavalry, fight on foot”.
322 BC
The last time a spear armed Thracian peltast is mentioned (Head, 1982).
317 BC
For the first time Tarantine mercenary shielded cavalry appeared in the Hellenistic World (Head, 1982). Specifically 2,300 fought for Antigonos in Asia. This is one possible driver for the Graeco-Macedonian adoption of cavalry shields “Tarantine” quickly became a style of fighting, weaponry and tactics, rather than the origin of the troops.
310 BC
The Celts attacked Illyria, trying to subdue the Dardanians, Paeonians and Triballi. Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe says the Celts were defeated by the Dardanians but Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare says they subded the Dardanians and the Paeonians. One of the large Illyrian tribes, the Autariatae, disappeared at this time (Wikipedia: Autariatae) or in 279 (Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare)
3rd Century BC
The 3rd Century BC saw the appearance of specialist thureophoroi (or thyreophoroi) (Wikipedia: Thyreophoroi). These carried the long thureos shield which had a type of metal strip boss and a central spine. They were armed with a long thrusting spear, javelins and a sword. Typically they wore an iron or bronze Macedonian helmet. Although peltasts are still illustrated in the early 3rd century BC, thureophoroi had become the main mercenary type by mid century.
In Thrace where the Thracians also replaced the pelta with the thureos (Webber, 2011).
298 BC
Celtic armies invaded both Macedonia and Thrace (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe). The group invading Macedonia was heavily defeated. The other group, however, successfully captured large areas of Thrace.
285 BC
Seleucus Nicator, dismounted from his horse and took the light shield (pelta) when he went to meet the mercenaries of Demetrius (Plutarch Life of Demetrius 49.2).
281 BC
Nicomedes I transported a Celtic splinter group to Asia Minor to help him defeat his brother and secure the throne of Bithynia (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe). This group eventually settled in the region that came to be named after them, Galatia, hence Galatian.
280 BC
Start of the Pyrrhic War (Wikipedia: Pyrrhic War). King Pyrrhus took an army to Italy (Head, 1982). Previously Epeirot troops were equipped like Illyrians but the Epeirots that Pyrrhus took to Italy fought in Macedonian style. Although his own cavalry were shieldless at this point, Pyrrhus was exposed to Tarantine and Roman shielded cavalry.
A Celtic great army invaded Macedonia and central Greece but …
270s BC
Sometime in the 270s BC the Boeotians and Achaean League transformed their infantry into thureophoroi (Wikipedia: Thyreophoroi). This does seem to align quite nicely with the Celtic invasion. It also aligns with Pyrrhus’s return from Italy. The 270s were a busy time.
279 BC
At the Battle of Thermopylae a Greek coalition made up of Aetolians, Boeotians, Athenians, Phocians, and other Greeks north of Corinth deployed in the narrow pass of Thermopylae defeated the Celtic Great army (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe).
Some Celts defeated Thracians under Seuthopolis (Wikpedia: Thracian Warfare). Then some Celtics settled in Thrace (Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe).
Celts absorbed the Illyrian Autariatai (Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare).
Sekunda (2012) argues the Graeco-Macedonians adopted shields from the Celts as a result of the Celtic invasions (Head, 1982, also acknowledges this theory but presents two alternatives). Nefedkin (2009) also believes there is evidence that Graeco-Macedonian cavalry were using oblong shields of the Celtic type since the 270s BC. He, however, points out this type of shield was not widespread among the Hellenistic cavalry in Greece; they were more common in Asiatic kingdoms, perhaps as a result of conflict with the migrating Galatians.
277 BC
Antigonus II Gonatas, King of Macedon, defeated the Celts at the Battle of Lysimachia in Thrace (Wikipedia: Antigonid Macedonian army). The survivors retreated and founded the short-lived city-state of Tylis which lasted until 200 BC (Head, 1982; Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe).
275 BC
End of the Pyrrhic War (Wikipedia: Pyrrhic War).
275 BC is Head’s (1982) third and preferred date for the Graeco-Macedonian adoption of cavalry shields. The argument goes that Pyrrhus brought shields back from Italy for his cavalry. Head believes Thracian and Illyrian cavalry adopted shields about the same time as the Graeco-Macedonians. “Illyrian” was the Roman term for shielded javelin cavalry.
Nefedkin (2009) also believe Pyrrhus brought Italian round cavalry shields back to Greece. He observed that Italian and Gallic iconographies show Celtic cavalrymen carrying oval shields with vertical spinae. The shape and direction of the spina do not match the Greek cavalry shield, so he thinks it very unlikely that the Greeks adopted cavalry shields from the Celts.
Graeco-Macedonian cavalry shields were large, circular, wooden, and sometimes covered in hide or felt (Sekunda, 2012). They measured 99-101 cm in diameter so covered the rider from neck to thigh. There were two main types. The earlier umbo style had a large, central circular bronze boss (the umbo). [To my eye the large umbo makes this shield look very like a Argive shield with a rim.] The second, spina style, became popular in the 2nd century BC had a smaller elongated ‘barleycorn’-shaped umbo set on a reinforcing rib (spina) horizontally across the front. Head (1982) points out the rib on the cavalry shield is horizontal whereas the rib is vertical on the infantry thureos. Macedonian cavalry that adopted the shield also adopted javelins and abandoned the xyston.
274 BC
Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, seized the Macedonian throne from Antigonus II Gonatas (Wikipedia: Pyrrhus of Epirus).
274 BC
Pyrrhus, King of Epirus and Macedonia, invaded the Peloponnese and was killed during the street battle at Argos (Wikipedia: Pyrrhus of Epirus). He fought mounted while carrying an shield (aspis) (Nefedkin, 2009).
270s BC
The Achaean League and the Boeotians adopted the thureos (Wikipedia: Thyreophoroi).
264-241
The First Punic War lasted from 264 to 241 BC (Wikipedia: First Punic War).
229-228 BC
First Illyrian War between the Romans and Illyrians (Wikipedia: Illyro-Roman Wars; Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare). Reacting to Illyrian pirates, the Romans expelled Illyrian garrisons from various Greek port cities and put them under Rome’s protection. They supported Demetrius of Pharos.
222 BC
The Achaean citizen troops at the Battle of Sellasia (222 BC) use “thureos too narrow to cover the body” (Plutarch, quoted in Webber, 2011, p. 54).
Megalopolis, an Achaean city, reequipped their thureophoroi as Macedonian style phalangites following a donation of bronze shields by Antigonus III Doson (Wikipedia: Thyreophoroi)
220 BC
Polybius records thureophoroi in service with the Seleucids (Webber, 2011).
220-219 BC
The Second Illyrian War (Wikipedia: Illyro-Roman Wars; Wikipedia: Illyrian Warfare). Demetrius of Pharos foolishly antagonised his Roman allies and was ejected from Illyria.
214 BC
Thracians defeated the Celts of Tylis (Wikpedia: Thracian Warfare).
208-207 BC
The Achaean League reequipped their thureophoroi as Macedonian style phalangites (Plutarch Life of Philopoemen 9.2)
2nd Century BC and later
200 BC
By the end of the 3rd century BC the Macedonian style phalangites had replaced the thyreophoros as the dominant troop type in the smaller Greek states (Wikipedia: Thyreophoroi).
Polybius, writing c. 200 – c. 118 BC, viewed large round shields as standard for Graeco-Macedonian cavalry (Head, 1982). 200 BC was the last representation of a Ptolemaic cavalryman armed with the long xysta and no shield.
Roman cavalry were now using spina style shield with the horizontal rib (Head, 1982).
197 BC
Thracian infantry were using rhomphaia against Romans in the skirmishes before the Battle of Cynoscephalae (197 BC)
190 or 189 BC
At the Battle of Magnesia, Thracian infantry using rhomphaia held off an attack by the victorious Seleucid right flank (Webber, 2011).
168 BC
At the Battle of Pydna the Romans defeated the Antigonid Macedonians (Webber, 2011). The Thracians in Macedonian service had “bright and glittering shields and black frocks under them, their legs armed with greaves, and they brandished as they moved straight and heavily ironed spears [rumpia] over their right shoulders” (p. 25 quoting Plutarch). Black was one of the three sacred colours for Thracians, the others being red and white.
63 BC
The Seleucid’s retained the xysta for both their elite cavalry and the line cataphracts until the defeat by the Romans (Head, 1982). Other cavalry had javelin and shields.
1st Century AD
The Macedonian-type phalanx was still in use by two partly Hellenised, but non-Greek, states: the Kushan Kingdom of Bactria and the north Syria (Deligiannis, 2009). This was probably the last of those Armed in Macedonian fashion.
References
Deligiannis, P. (2009). The Twilight of the Macedonian Phalanx: the last survivals of its use (1st century AD). Author. https://www.academia.edu/19585060/THE_TWILIGHT_OF_THE_MACEDONIAN_PHALANX_the_last_survivals_of_its_use_1st_century_AD.
Echeverría, F. (2012). “Hoplite and Phalanx in Archaic and Classical Greece: A Reassessment”. Classical Philology, 107, p. 291-318.
Everson, T. (2004). Warfare in Ancient Greece: Arms and armour from the heroes of Homer to Alexander the Great. Sutton.
Head, D. (1982). Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars 359 BC to 146 BC. Wargames Research Group.
Luke Ueda-Sarson, L. (2002). The Evolution of Hellenistic Infantry, part 1: The Reforms of Iphikrates. [A print version of this article was published in Slingshot, 222 (May 2002), pages 30-36]
Nefedkin, A. (2009). On the Origin of Greek Cavalry Shields in the Hellenistic Period. Klio.
Plutarch Life of Demetrius 49.2
Plutarch Life of Philopoemen 9.2
Sekunda, N. (1984). The Army of Alexander the Great [Men-at-Arms 148]. Osprey Publishing.
Sekunda, N. (2012). Macedonian Armies after Alexander 323-168 BC [Men-at-Arms 477]. Osprey Publishing.
YouTube: Schwerpunkt: Thureophoroi (IV-II century BC)
Wary J. (1980). Warfare in the Classical World: An illustrated encyclopedia of weapons, warriors and warfare in the ancient civilisations of Greece and Rome. University of Oklahoma.
Webber, C. (2011). The Gods of Battle: The Thracians at War 1500 BC – AD 150. Pen & Sword.
Wikipedia: Antigonid Macedonian army
Wikipedia: Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe
Steven,
You are a brave man to even hint at resurrecting the “rhompaia debate”!☺
I’m old enough to remember the ink spread across Military Modelling and Slingshot!
I note you don’t include much from the Diadocchi wars; Antigonus One-eye is said to have employed “Tarantines” who came “from the sea” – numbers of 200 or 2000 – much debate whether these are shielded LC and how such numbers could have come from a small city in Italy.
It’s a bit like the interesting debates on what “armed in the Cretan fashion” or indeed “Macedonian fashion” mean, especially when deployment can suggest other than the traditional explanation.
Neil
Neil, there are certainly lots of debates on about military tactics, terms and equipment during this period. That is the reason I wrote the timeline. Statements like “the Greeks adopted cavalry shields from the Celts” just invite timeline questions. When did the Greeks meet the Celts? Was that a time when the Celts were seen as superior militarily, hence when their equipment would inspire imitation? Was there an earlier explanation? Similarly for Iphicrates, peltasts, thureophoroi, and phalangites.
I must have missed the rhomphaia debate, but I could make a guess what it was about. What was the essence of the debate and what is your view on rhomphaia?
I started with Iphicrates which might explain why I petered out by the Diadocchi wars. As it happens I’ve already included Antigonus’s Tarantines – see 317 BC.
What about underarm and overarm spears! 🤣
And Hypaspists. That always gets people agitated.
Steven,
I don’t recall all the details, but it involved Charles Grant snr and Phil Barker among others. It was whether the Thracian peltasts were armed with a spear or 2-handed cutting weapon akin to the Dacian Falx or rather Barstanian IIRC.
Much was made of translations of “rhomphiae of heavy iron hanging from their shoulders” and was carried on by letters to the said publications with slights taken from the phrasing of comments.
I don’t really have a view as I think defining troops by weapons led to ridiculous situations; under 6th edition WRG, Thracian peltasts can cross rivers without being disordered – “they are assumed to be swimming” meaning they fight at full effectiveness, throwing javelins and wielding a 2 handed chopper – I don’t even think they count as unshielded…….
Sorry, I missed the 317 bc reference…..
Neil
History and wargaming are, of course, related but different.
I rather went off the whole WRG troop classifications whether 6th edition or later. And DBx “Auxilia” where what finally put me on a mission to find wargaming rules that matched my view of history. I’m still looking.
I have the old Slingshot magazines, in both paper and digital format, and I might look up the debate. Personally I think there is compelling evidence that Thracian peltasts went from skirmishing with javelins, to close fighters with long spear, to close fighters with two handed chopper. The “rhomphiae of heavy iron hanging from their shoulders” and akin to the Dacian Falx, etc, etc.
I looked up the great rhomphaia debate in Slingshot. There really were only two contributors and only a few articles in total. Not surprisingly, I find Duncan Head’s case convincing. There is literary, artistic, and archeological evidence for rhomphaia. Of course there isn’t much of any of that, and some of it is can be confusing e.g. the same author can both call a rhomphaia a sword and also not a sword. Although I find that that ambiguous description pretty accurate for an unusual weapon.
My favourite bit was Duncan Head’s comment (Slingshot Issue 80):
I think it started in Military Modelling with an article by Charles Grant resulting in some to and fro in the letters pages….
I dragged in several readers complaining about the topic taking up so much space in the magazine…..
Ah! Pre-internet days when the aggrieved had to write a letter and post it as oppose to joining the ranks of keyboard warriors with immediate access to a platform!
Neil
Great work again Steven,
I too am a little underwhelmed by the DBA/ DBM Auxilia rating and from what Neil has pointed out, I am glad to have only played a couple games of WRG while in my teens.
Because I am somewhat lazy, I have turned to Neil Thomas’ One Hour Wargames.
I tried OHW. I moved on.
A very detailed timeline and very useful for those of us attempting army lists bounded by time and place – I’ve done mine and I’m not going back but thank you none the less 😀
Thanks for this Stephen, it’s a really useful summary and compilation of the material.
Regarding the problem of the poor performance of Auxilia class troops in DBA, I agree, the combat factors in the rules under-represent the fighting ability of some troops that fall into that class, such as Spanish scutarii and Iphicratean peltasts. Certainly some accounts suggest these were quite able to hold their own in close combat against their “superiors”, Spears and Blades, even though they were more lightly armoured and fought in looser order.
Because I otherwise really like DBA, I’ve tried a few fixes for this problem.
My usual fix is to split the Auxilia class into two types. Solid Auxilia continue to be solid and termed Auxilia and retain all the peculiarities of that class but their combat factors become 4, 3. Fast Auxilia become Peltasts and though keeping all the peculiarities of Auxilia but their combat factors become 3, 2. The effect is that Auxilia become tougher against Foot but no more effective against Mounted and Spears and Blades retain a slight advantage against them except in Bad Going where Auxilia come into their own. Peltasts, on the other hand, remain just as good at dealing with Psiloi on any ground and fight well against otherwise superior troops but only in Bad Going and become somewhat more vulnerable to Mounted as befits loose order troops armed with small shields and javelins but not spears. My experience so far is that this fix works pretty well.
My other, alternative fixes are: (1) to reclassify those troops such as Hannibal’s Spanish at Cannae to Fast Blades, which is somewhat overkill but works reasonably well; or (2) to markedly increase the area of the battlefield that is covered by Bad or Rough Going, which assumes that the players don’t use the terrain set up rules but follow a scenario instead.
Regards, Chris