Battle of Cunaxa Illustration

[Artabanos]

I always like to see artworks of the mysterious heavy Achaemenid cavalry, here the classical variant in action!

In my opinion the Persian knights in the great artwork of Johnny Shumate should be satrapial cavalry of Asia minor/Anatolia, the real Iranic cavalry should have been heavier and more Iranic in style.

The wonderful photos posted by Laran are the first ones which I see displaying the royal heavy cavalry about which little is known. I know only one instance in which a Greek source reports about the heavy Persian cavalry, Herodotus and his report about the death of the cavalry general Masistios during Xerxes's Greece expedition and the battle of Plataiai.

I have combined the description of Masistios with the relief on the Sarcophagus of that high ranking Persian to display a heavy Persian cavalryman, Masistios.



Since it’s a General displayed I used much gold and purple, like reported by Herodotus, the standard variants would not have golden breast armour and golden head armour for the horse, the rest of the armour is a silver/bronze/iron combination. It’s likely that the helmet, a metal tiara, as well as the mask and maybe all the other armour part would be golden given the high rank of Masistios but this wasn't reported by Herodotus.

I replaced the lance with the bow, since this would be the usual weapon during the first phase of an attack. For close combat a mace is carried with an Ox-head which is the mythical cavalry weapon of the Persians. The other option for normal troops would be the battle-axe; the mace should have been a prestigious weapon for high ranking generals only.
The acinaces short sword is of course also carried like on the Persian sarcophagus.

The mask is simply modelled after the face of the knight of the sarcophagus which could display a mask rather than a face in my opinion, the helmet is as said a simple metal tiara which is covered by the traditional Persian headwear. The neck and throat protection is not very well displayed on the sarcophagus but there are other pictures available. The upper arm protection is also not well visible, I choose to make them extra large like they seem to be on the sarcophagus, this might have been so for certain protection reasons. The leg armour is a one-piece chaps like one and I also choose to use a frontal one-piece armour for the horse since there are quite some reports about this feature and something is visible on the sarcophagus (which was most likely in colour originally). Most of the armour is scale armour of course.


This kind of cavalry was in my opinion always the core of the Achaemenid forces, most likely less in numbers than the 10.000 Immortals but much more important and elite. These should have been mainly used against the mounted archers of the northern steppes, mainly in the eastern part of the empire.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

This is nice.With some ammount of speculation it is true,but you have justified your opinions.However isn't it strange that Herodotos and/or Xenophon have not described such impressive and extraordinary equipment?
Also,I understand that your intention was to show as much of his armor as possible,but at that particular day of 479 bc Masistios's golden cuirass was covered by his "phinikis"(red/crimson/purple) tunic.I see you know that but you prefered the purple cloak as shown on the Alexander sarcophagus.
By the way,wellcome to the forum,nice we have one more "Persian" here,as implied by your name.
I suppose sooner or later the moderators will ask you to write your real name in your signature...
Khaire
Giannis

[Mithras]

You've got a nice style there! I've not heard of an 'iron tiara' before - is there any evidence for such a thing? Combined with the face mask, it looks very alien.

Also ... the armour does look classical, would it have that look in 479? Pteruges and the shoulder 'wings' look as if they are directly snatched from the Greeks.

The whole subject of Persian armour is very fuzzy to me, I cannot quite grasp when an Assyrian style (if there was such) was replaced by a Greek style.

And what role the Scythian leather curiass played in Persian cavalry, if any ...

[Artabanos]

@Giannis K. Hoplite

However isn't it strange that Herodotos and/or Xenophon have not described such impressive and extraordinary equipment?

Yes it is strange, however I think it’s because they and the Greeks of that time had seldom the opportunity to see a Persian knight or get a dead one. The Persian heavy cavalry was very careful when attacking hoplite infantry.
But there are some hints which tell how impressive the Persian heavy cavalry was. Herodotus tells that Masistios fought on foot against the attacking hoplites of Athens until they realized that he was completely armoured under his kandys (yes he wore it at the time he died), then one Hoplite managed to stick his weapon into one of the eyeholes of his mask finally killing him.

I personally think that these elite units were only seldom used in close combat, therefore only little is known.

I see you know that but you prefered the purple cloak as shown on the Alexander sarcophagus.

Yes that’s right, this style was very common among Persians, there are many examples in which the kandys is worn on the shoulders.


Thanks for the welcome.


@Mithras

I've not heard of an 'iron tiara' before - is there any evidence for such a thing?

This seems to have been the common helmet among Persians. The popular leather headwear/cap had always space for a felt tiara. Thank to the Persian sarcophagus its visible that the knight carries some kind of tiara under the headwear and the amount of armour leads and the report about Masistios lead me to the opinion that it must have been a metal one rather than a felt tiara, such felt tiaras were not used by warriors in wartime, if no helmet was needed they Persian headwear/cap was carried, like visible on the Alexander mosaic and sarcophagus.

Persian helmets were always a mystery for me only with the photos of the Persian sarcophagus I felt secure enough to make my first picture of a Persian warrior.

Combined with the face mask, it looks very alien.

Yes it’s totally new, the cavalry face masks were also used in Parthian and Sasanian periods and taken over by the Romans.

Also ... the armour does look classical, would it have that look in 479? Pteruges and the shoulder 'wings' look as if they are directly snatched from the Greeks.

This kind of breast armour layout should have had pretty old origin in my opinion. It’s very likely that the armour of the Persian sarcophagus is the same; we certainly know it from later periods. If the breast armour of Masistios was so effective it should have been likely that the Persians kept that style and didn't switch to a Greek style. The connections between Greeks and Iranic tribes over Thracians, Scythians and others is evident and I think this breast armour style has pretty old roots. Additional information on this breast armour style is welcome.

The whole subject of Persian armour is very fuzzy to me, I cannot quite grasp when an Assyrian style (if there was such) was replaced by a Greek style.

I highly doubt there was Assyrian influence on Iranic cavalry armour; Assyrians had influence on Iranic infantry, especially Median because Iranic tribes didn't have serious infantry before coming in contact with Assyrians and Elamites.

And what role the Scythian leather curiass played in Persian cavalry, if any ...

Yes the common origins of both make this likely but rather for the common Iranic horse mounted archers, not for the elite heavy cavalry imo.

[Laran]

Welcome Artabanos,
That's surely an interesting interpretation. Are such helmets mentioned in primary sources or is there any real find?

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

A question.I had it drom the first time I saw it in the Alexander Sarcophagus.Was this coat meant to be worn with hands in the sleeves in any case?I haven't noticed such coats in any other art depiction worn with the sleeves.I don't even find it impossible that they were purely decorative,as is the case with some 19th century greek clothing,but these sleeves are completely realistic while the more modern ones apear to be only decorative after some point.
Khaire
Giannis

[Mithras]

you know, that's a good point! I haven't either!

[Artabanos]

@Laran

Are such helmets mentioned in primary sources or is there any real find

Unfortunately not, they should have been simple in design because they were covered by the Iranic headwear/cap. I have not seen any real example all is based on your scans of the Persian sarcophagus found in Turkey, from there it’s certain that such a heavy armoured cavalryman would not wear the traditional felt tiara under his cap. The metal tiara should have also side protection while the rest was protected by the neck protection (fortunately for me the side protections of the helmet are covered by the Persian cap). Its all based on what’s visible in the sarcophagus.

Interestingly all the Persians on the Alexander sarcophagus had empty caps, some even in the "sun protection layout" as I call it. This leads me to the conclusion that something is wrong with it, since this would be the peacetime way to wear it not the one for combat. The Persian sarcophagus provides for the first time an insight in the real combat layout in which the cap was "filled" by a helmet, a metal tiara and tightened by a traditional band around the cap.
As said I was so impressed by this discovery together with the neck protection that I saw the need to display it in an illustration, before this to less was known about the Persian knight.



@Giannis K. Hoplite

The kandys coat was mostly worn on shoulders in the summer but could of course be worn together with the sleeves; it was part of the traditional Persian noble clothing. I recall Xenophons story about a group of Persian noble cavalryman taking off their prestigious kandys coat before jumping into the mud to help a carriage struck in it when they saw Cyrus the younger , I also recall that he said that they presented themselves only with hands in the sleeves infront the prince. The question is if the knights had an extra second wide kandys coat when fully armoured, from the report of Herodoteus this seems likely, apparently Persians didn't like to be seen armoured, not even in combat.

[MeinPanzer]

On the issue of terms.
LEYKOS pronounced lefkos both in ancient and modern Greek means white.

Why do you think the upsilon was also pronounced as an "F" sound in ancient Greek? What evidence do you have for this?

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

The ypsilon is some times pronounced as an "f" or a "v" after the letters "α","ε" and "η".It most probably has to do with the origin of the word.Why does the "ph" sound like "f" in english?
Khaire
Giannis

[MeinPanzer]

The ypsilon is some times pronounced as an "f" or a "v" after the letters "α","ε" and "η".It most probably has to do with the origin of the word.

I know that that is the case in modern Greek, but what linguistic evidence is there for it being pronounced as such in ancient Greek?

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

I'm talking about the origin of the word for the ancients,too.The meaning.
I don't have linguistic evidence.The byzantine hymns,however,a language just between modern and ancient greek,and closer to the hellenistic language,have the same pronunciation of letters as the modern greek.This,as an opposition to all those supporting the Erasmian system,pnonouncing all the letters as would be read in latin.
Khaire
Giannis

[MeinPanzer]

I'm talking about the origin of the word for the ancients,too.The meaning.
I don't have linguistic evidence.The byzantine hymns,however,a language just between modern and ancient greek,and closer to the hellenistic language,have the same pronunciation of letters as the modern greek.This,as an opposition to all those supporting the Erasmian system,pnonouncing all the letters as would be read in latin.
Khaire
Giannis

But Latin transliteration is much more chronologically relevant to our understanding of ancient Greek linguistics than later Byzantine language, and no such pronunciation is to be found when you compare Greek and Latin.

[Giannis K. Hoplite]

The only latin-greek relevance is that at some point very early latin has evolved from some greek(boeotian?) dialect.How the boeotian alphabet changed in terms of pronunciation effected by the native Italiotic language,I don't know.What I do know is that Byzantine hymns are all written in "Hellenistiki Koine",common Hellenistc,and that there was not a gap in the continuation of greek language.What do I mean?That Byzantine priests did not suppose that the Hellenistic language had to be pronounced that way,they just wrote in the existing language.Equally,nowadays you don't speak in the language of religious hymns,but you do pronounce in modern greek the letters in the same way.
And here is a difference between the relation of Ancient-Byzantine and Byzantine-Modern greek language.In the 2nd,3rd..6th and so on centuries,greek language never stopped being written and tought.From the end of Byzantium and till the 18th century,greek language was seldom being tought and written.One would expect greater changes between the Byzantine and Modern language,in terms of pronunciation(because grammar had to be almost reconstructed by simplifying ancient greek).But no changes have been made,and I don't find a reason for so basic differantiation from hellenistic to byzantine language.
To sum up,I think the erasmian system was made to help latin speaking researchers,who had in depth studied ancient greek grammar but knew nothing of the real speaking greek language,talk and understand each other in ancient Greek.
Khaire
Giannis

[Artabanos]

@Comerus Gallus Romus

Thanks for the picture, it might be aimed to display a Kasakh but the roots of this kind of armoured cavalryman are of north-east Iranic/Scythian origin, most likely Chorasmia of the 11th century A.D. or later. They and Turkic/Khasakh people were direct neighbours.

However this kind of chain mail armour was only used from the Sasanian period on. The same mask was also used in a Sassanian cavalryman illustration IIRC and from there even in Rome Total War BI .

The Achaemenid heavy cavalry armour was almost certainly a heavy linothorax type with scales.