05-19-2005, 04:02 PM
This huge number is an estimate by Herodotus, but modern scholars tend to look at this number as outragiuosly inflated. I've read many times the modern estimate of 300,000, which is drastically different.
Herodotus gives the numbers from each country in the Persian empire, and for each country individually, the number of troops raised seems reasonable. The total adds up to about a million actual fighting men, the other four million are estimates by H. of troops joined along the way plus hangers on (cooks, people selling things to the troops, women etc.). This estimate of non-fighting people is of course very speculative, but the one million fighting men seems to come from a more concrete source.
What are the specific arguments against Herodotus's numbers? Since he is the only source, it would seem that the burden of proof would be on the detractors.
Herodotus gives the numbers from each country in the Persian empire, and for each country individually, the number of troops raised seems reasonable. The total adds up to about a million actual fighting men, the other four million are estimates by H. of troops joined along the way plus hangers on (cooks, people selling things to the troops, women etc.). This estimate of non-fighting people is of course very speculative, but the one million fighting men seems to come from a more concrete source.
What are the specific arguments against Herodotus's numbers? Since he is the only source, it would seem that the burden of proof would be on the detractors.
Rich Marinaccio
