Holy Company (Carthage)

Modern illustration of a Carthaginian hoplite (Holy Band, late 4th century BC)

The holy crowd ( ancient Greek ἱερὸς λόχος hieros lochos ) was the Greek name for a core force of the Carthaginian army.

The holy crowd is mentioned by various historians of antiquity, including Polybius , Plutarch and Diodorus ; but the information handed down about them is very sparse and partly contradicting itself. The only thing that is really certain is that it consisted of around 2500–3000 Carthaginian citizens and that they lived in the second half of the 4th century BC Was used in the wars for Sicily.

Because it was made up of Carthaginian citizens, it took on a special status within the army, since the remaining troops only had Carthaginian officers and otherwise consisted of either mercenaries or residents of the areas ruled by Carthage and allies who were obliged to serve in the military.

literature

swell

• Plutarch : Bíoi parálleloi , Timoleion.
• Diodorus : 15.81.2, 16.80.4.
• Polybios

Secondary literature

• Walter Ameling : Carthage. Studies on the military, the state and society. Beck, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-406-37490-5 , p. 155 ( excerpt (Google) ).
• Werner Huss : Carthage . CH Beck, 1995, ISBN 3406398251 , p. 84 ( excerpt (Google) ).
• The Cambridge Ancient History. VII Part 2. The Rise of Rome to 220 BC Cambridge University Press, 1989, ISBN 0521234468 , p. 494 ( excerpt (Google) ).
• Richard A. Gabriel: The Great Armies of Antiquity . Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, ISBN 0275978095 , p. 196 ( excerpt (Google) ).