04-24-2007, 02:34 AM
Very nice, Johny! I like the diversity of gear and the fact that the phalanx isn't in perfect order.
There are a number of sources on Pontic armies in the first century BC, probably including Appian and Plutarch (I haven't read much on Mithridates' army though). They seem to have been of mixed pattern, with Hellenistic, Persian, Anatolian, and (towards the end) Roman influences.
Regarding the dress of pikemen, don't some of our ancient sources on Alexander mention his men adopting foreign clothes en masse somewhere in Bactria, Sogodia, or India? In any case, I expect that men would have adopted foreign garments piecemeal as ones in the Greek style became harder to find, so there was probably also gradual change over his campaign. I doubt Alexander's men could have gotten an adequate supply of clothing and shoes from Greece after they crossed the Euphrates, and most of their camp followers were barbaroi. In Hellenistic times, I expect most regular pikemen would have dressed in Hellenic styles.
There are a number of sources on Pontic armies in the first century BC, probably including Appian and Plutarch (I haven't read much on Mithridates' army though). They seem to have been of mixed pattern, with Hellenistic, Persian, Anatolian, and (towards the end) Roman influences.
Regarding the dress of pikemen, don't some of our ancient sources on Alexander mention his men adopting foreign clothes en masse somewhere in Bactria, Sogodia, or India? In any case, I expect that men would have adopted foreign garments piecemeal as ones in the Greek style became harder to find, so there was probably also gradual change over his campaign. I doubt Alexander's men could have gotten an adequate supply of clothing and shoes from Greece after they crossed the Euphrates, and most of their camp followers were barbaroi. In Hellenistic times, I expect most regular pikemen would have dressed in Hellenic styles.
Nullis in verba
I have not checked this forum frequently since 2013, but I hope that these old posts have some value. I now have a blog on books, swords, and the curious things humans do with them.
I have not checked this forum frequently since 2013, but I hope that these old posts have some value. I now have a blog on books, swords, and the curious things humans do with them.
