Phalange Mixte

[Sean Manning]

It does make you wonder, given the way that the Alexander historians hide the role of Persian infantry at the Granicus and Issos. I understand that Diodorus is just as bad for fourth-century battles, and Xenophon for the campaigns of Aegesilaus. Its also possible that some ethnic Persians did fight as close-order spearmen before the kardakes. It was certainly part of the Assyrian military tradition, and practiced by many Persian subjects, and Herodotus' Persian War battes are described in simplified fashion (one uniform clash of Greek hoplites against Persian sparabara). There are some reliefs of guards at Persepolis with spears, big shields, and no bows. That supports the idea that sparabara were more effective troops than the Greek sources would suggest, because they kept using them.