Agrianes (troop)

The Agrianes are lightly armed troops that were formed in ancient times by the Agrianas for the Macedonian army.

history

Agrianas was originally a name for a tribe in the Balkans around 500 BC. They were allied with the Macedonians and had to do military service. We know very little about the Agrianes; Agrianes are known primarily for their warriors in the Macedonian army. The Agrianes were mainly recruited by Philip II because they were mobile and therefore very useful in field battles. His son Alexander the Great then used 1,000 men of this people in his campaigns to the east, where they fought as flank protection on the right wing of the great army.

Armament and division

The Agrianes were lightly armed foot troops who were usually armed with several short javelins and thus served as skirmishers . They were given little protection by either a loin armor or a wooden shield. On the battlefield, they fought in open formation.

They were mainly used on the flanks of a large army; This was due to the following reasons: 1. In this position they could attack the enemy with their spears from the often unprotected side. 2. Due to their light armament, such troop units were very mobile, which meant that they could close quickly during a one-circle maneuver if they were on their sides.

literature

• Peter Connolly : The Greek Armies . Tessloff Verlag, ISBN 3-7886-0181-7 ,