Antiochus IV of Commagene

[Johnny Shumate]

Josephus mentions Antiochus sent 2000 horse archers and 3000 foot archers to help the Romans during the Jewish war. Any idea what these guys looked like. Would they be Hellenistic/Greek horse/foot archers or Asiatics?
Johnny

[Carlton Bach]

I'm not sure you could draw a clear distinction between Hellenistic and Asiatic forces at the time. I think we can be fairly confident they were well equipped, in the style of the area, which would combine whatever gear worked. If you look at some statuary from the Hellenistic and Roman East you will find eclectic enough mixes, with Greek-style thoraces and distinctly un-Greek helmets and clothes.

The horse-archers would most likely have been trained in a local or ethnic tradition as traditional Greek cavalry used javelin and spear. Given the kingdom's placement, Syrians are not unlikely, though mercenaries from Southern Russia would also be possible. Their equipment might well have been siupplied by their employer - the Romans kitted out their Syrian archers in fairly standard stuff if funerary statuary can be trusted. If they were equipped in the Parthian/Syrian tradition, I'd expect fairly good armour, including limb defenses. Foot archers would most likely just wear helmets and somer type of torso armour. This is not strictly necessary - earlier crretan archers were often unarmored - but these were royal troops of a Hellenistic client kingdom. Their military purpose was less important than their status function.