Hypaspistes
The Hypaspistes ( Greek Ὑπασπιστής / shield bearer) were an infantry class of troops in the army of ancient Greece . As a tactical unit , they are best known as part of the Macedonian phalanx .
description
The shield bearers are mentioned for the first time in the army of Alexander the Great , but they are likely to have been of older origin. As early as under Philip II († 336 BC) they initially performed a purely protective function against the king, which was significantly expanded from Alexander at the latest. As Macedonians, they stood by the king in the broader sense as pezhetairoi , so "companions on foot", but they were deliberately differentiated by name from the so-called regular phalangites, as they formed a separate class of troops in their organization and use. The shield-bearers, like the phalangites, probably emerged from the old bodyguard guards of the Macedonian kings, and they continued the original guard function in combat as well as apart from it. That is why they were often called bodyguards ( somatophylakes ) , which however should not be confused with the seven-headed bodyguard corps.
Just like the phalangites, the actual pezhetaires, the shield-bearers were recruited from the families of the simple rural population. They were selected based on size and physical strength. However, their service in this troop was associated with a social rise, as they were closer to the king in the army and thus social order than the regular phalangites due to their guard function for the king. Much higher demands were placed on the shield bearers in terms of physical fitness and loyalty. On various occasions they have been referred to in the traditions as the "flower of the Macedonians". Only the members of the Hetaire riding were closer to the king and thus above them.
At the latest under Alexander the Great († 323 BC), the range of tasks of the shield bearer had expanded considerably by becoming an important component in warfare. With a corps strength of 3,000 men, they had grown into a tactical troop body and were integrated into the Macedonian phalanx as a supplement to the pezhetairoi . Since the Macedonian phalangite had to wield its long lance ( sarissa ) with both hands, the extreme right end of the phalanx formation was unprotected and thus offered a worthwhile target for the enemy. This weak point should now be covered by the shield bearers with their large shields ( hoplon ) and thus increase the resistance of the phalanx in an ancient form of increasing combat value . Furthermore, they acted on the battlefield as a link between the phalanx and the heavy Macedonian cavalry ( Hetairenreiterei ), which was usually positioned to the right of them. In addition to the shield, the hypaspistes were also armed with a one-handed lance and a sword, which brought their equipment close to the classical Greek hoplites . In the course of the Alexanderzug (334–323 BC) they had also acquired the style of fighting in the classic phalanx formation, that is, set up in a tightly packed formation with overlapping shields. This made them ideal for particularly small combat situations as well as for operations to be carried out quickly. Furthermore, they could be used flexibly during sieges.
At the beginning of the Alexanderzug the shield-bearers were organized in a corps under the unit command of an archihypaspistos . Later they were divided into three thousandships (chiliarchiai) , each led by a thousandships leader (chiliarchos) , and these in turn were divided into two five- hundredships (pentakosiarchiai or lochoi) .
Guard
Apart from the combat mission, the shield-bearers had retained their protective function for the king. As soon as he fought on foot, mostly during sieges, they formed a guard (ἄγημα / agēma ) with the best warriors from their ranks for his protection. After the end of the Indian campaign, this also served as the palace guard in Susa , Ekbatana and Babylon . After the death of Alexander, she escorted in 321 BC. His funeral procession.
Veterans
Under Alexander, the oldest and most experienced shieldbearers had gained a general reputation as the elite of Macedonian warriors. Their shields were provided with iron or silver fittings, which is why they were known under the name "silver shields" (αργυράσπιδες / argyraspides ). The veterans' associations in the phalanx formations of the later Hellenistic rulers were also called this.
Armament
The Hypaspists wore a helmet , a sword and one in ore chosen leather jerkin , but had unlike the Pezhetairen ( Macedonian phalanx ) Shields (instead of the Illyrian) style and lances of normal length in Argives (about two meters) instead of sarissae threefold Man length. In addition, Hypaspists sometimes carried throwing plants, which they, like the pila of the Roman legionaries , hurled at the enemy before the lines clash. This loosened the enemy formation and effectively broke the onslaught and morale. The leather spolas often served as armor .
At the time of the Diadochi , Galatian long swords largely replaced the previous short swords. In addition, the armaments became more diverse; Lamellar armor , chain mail and scale armor were added.
literature
- Joseph Roisman, Ian Worthington (Eds.): A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester et al. 2010, ISBN 978-1-4051-7936-2 , pp. 454-456.
- Edward M. Anson: Alexander's Hypaspists and the Argyraspids. In: Historia . Vol. 30, No. 1, 1981, pp. 117-120, JSTOR 4435747 .
- Edward M. Anson: The Hypaspists: Macedonia's Professional Citizen-Soldiers. In: Historia. Vol. 34, No. 2, 1985, pp. 246-248, JSTOR 4435923 .
- RA Lock: The Origins of the Argyraspids. In: Historia. Vol. 26, No. 3, 1977, pp. 373-378, JSTOR 4435568 .
- Robert D. Milns: The Hypaspists of Alexander III: Some Problems. In: Historia. Vol. 20, No. 2/3, 1971, pp. 186-195, JSTOR 4435190 .
Remarks
- ^ Theopompos , The Fragments of the Greek Historians . 115, question. 348.
- ^ So in Diodorus 16, 4, 5.
- ^ Arrian , Anabasis. 7, 11, 3.