02-13-2012, 07:52 AM
Quote:Unfortunately George, I'd have to disagree root and branch. Were Greece invaded by the numbers Herodotus proposes you'd be speaking Farsi.
Macedon post=306609 Wrote:If the Persian state was able to feed xxx.xxx soldiers at home, it could feed them abroad as long as it could transport the supplies to them. That the Persian Empire could feed not 1 or 2 but 50 million people there is no doubt.
Of course the lands under Persian control could feed themselves. Just as the various ancient communities of Europe could. Thus the various lands fed what soldiery lived from its produce. That is an entirely different matter to assembling such a multitude in the one place and doing so.
As you probably saw, I do not actually say that Herodot is right. I just dispute the belief that the Persians were unable to support such a great host. I personally believe that the numbers would be nearer to 1 mil instead of Herodot's 2,5 mil. In my opinion, 2,5 mil soldiers would make the campaign even easier for Greeks to gain the victory over the Persians. Logistically they might have managed. Stratagically, they would not have, not in such a limited theater. I also have maintained that from the x mil followers, most if not all would have abandoned the campaign after mere weeks, a matter Herodot does not discuss. Yet, from all of his numbers, I find his account of Xerxes' navy most plausible.
