Alan Military Tactics

[Flavivs Aetivs]

Thinking of maps, I had a friend of mine make some illustrations for my article, but I don't have photoshop and its a photoshop file. Do any of you have something that can open a .psd by chance? I need it as a PNG or JPG

[Michael Kerr]

In regard to the map, I shall attach my own Chronological timeline covering Adrianople to just after Chalons.

[attachment=8439]ChronologicalTableofAlans-shortened.pdf[/attachment]
I only typed it out to avoid looking for book all the time. At least you can make sense of dates on map.
Evan how big are your files as PSD files are layered which makes them much bigger than jpegs. I have Photoshop and you need to (sorry to be technical here) flatten the image before you save as a jpeg. PM me if you have problems. PSD is a native Adobe file format so I don't know of many cheap or free photo manipulation programs that can flatten them.
Regards
Michael Kerr

[Alanus]

Hello, All

At this time of year, I have "infrequent" internet access here in the Great Velds of Maine. So, I'm not posting as often as I should. 8-)

In regards to previous posts on the Alans as "idol worshipers," as far as I know they worshiped a singular-- the sun. They had totemic deities too, the deer-horse, gryphon, eagle, etc. They did worship their ancestors. In the "sanctuary" between the Aral and Caspian seas, there are still a number of monoliths, mustashed like 19th century British non-coms, oft with an akinakes carved at the right thigh. These are believed to be the "ancesters," worshiped in times of need. They are also "idols," But they are just part of a pantheon of secondaries. I would think that by worshiping a singular "god" (the sun), it would have been easy to convert the Alans to Arian Christianity. Just one God, and then his Son (who was not God but his earthly son within Arianism, and opposing the triple-god idea of the Trinity). Like Robert said, it would be easy to convert the barbarians (Alans, Goths, Vandals, Heruli) to Arianism and more difficult to convince them to switch to the more orthodox Catholic church.