Apeltast (Ancient Greek:πελταστής,peltastēs) was a type oflight infantry originating inThrace andPaeonia and named after the kind of shield they carried.[1]Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, whileXenophon in theAnabasis distinguishes the Thracian and Greek peltast troops.[2]
The peltast often served as askirmisher inHellenistic armies. In theMiddle Ages, the same term was used for a type ofByzantine infantryman.
Peltasts carried a crescent-shapedwicker shield called a "pelte" (Ancient Greekπέλτη,peltē; Latin:pelta[N 1]) as their main protection, hence their name. According toAristotle, thepelte was rimless and covered in goat- or sheepskin. Some literary sources imply that the shield could be round, but in art it is usually shown as crescent-shaped. It also appears inScythian art and may have been a common type in Central Europe. The shield could be carried with acentral strap and a handgrip near the rim[citation needed] or with just a central hand-grip. It may also have had a carrying strap (orguige), asThracianpeltasts slung their shields on their backs when evading the enemy.
Peltasts weapons consisted of severaljavelins, which may have had straps to allow more force to be applied to a throw.
The size of these javelins could differ greatly from a modern olympic-style javelin.Xenophon mentions in hisAnabasis an encounter with hostileCarduchians, fighting with longbows, wherein the Greeks reused carduchian arrows as javelins.
They were, moreover, excellent archers, using bows nearly three cubits long and arrows more than twocubits (86 cm -112 cm). When discharging the arrow, they draw the string by getting a purchase with the left foot planted forward on the lower end of the bow. The arrows pierced through shield and cuirass, and the Hellenes, when they got hold of them, used them as javelins, fitting them to their thongs.[4]
InArchaic Greece, the Greek martial tradition had been focused almost exclusively on the heavy infantry, orhoplites.
The style of fighting used bypeltasts originated inThrace, and the first Greekpeltasts were recruited from the Greek cities of the Thracian coast.[1] They are generally depicted on vases and in other images as wearing the typical Thracian costume, which includes the distinctivePhrygian cap made of fox-skin and with ear flaps. They also usually wore patterned tunics, fawnskin boots and long cloaks, calledzeiras, decorated with a bright, geometric, pattern. However, manymercenary peltasts were probably recruited in Greece. Some vases have also been found showing hoplites (men wearingCorinthian helmets, greaves andcuirasses, holding hoplite spears) carryingpeltes. Often, the mythicalAmazons (women warriors) are shown with peltast equipment.
Peltasts gradually became more important in Greek warfare, in particular during thePeloponnesian War.
Xenophon, in theAnabasis, describespeltasts in action againstAchaemenidcavalry at theBattle of Cunaxa in 401 BC, where they were serving as part of the mercenary force ofCyrus the Younger.
Tissaphernes had not fled at the first charge (by the Greek troops), but had instead charged along the river through the Greekpeltasts. However he did not kill a single man as he passed through. The Greeks opened their ranks (to allow the Persian cavalry through) and proceeded to deal blows (with swords) and throw javelins at them as they went through.[4]
Xenophon's description makes it clear that thesepeltasts were armed with swords, as well as javelins, but not with spears. When faced with a charge from the Persian cavalry, they opened their ranks and allowed the cavalry through while striking them with swords and hurling javelins at them.[4]
.jpg)
Peltasts became the main type of Greek mercenary infantry in the 4th century BC. Their equipment was less expensive than that of traditional hoplites and would have been more readily available to poorer members of society. The Athenian generalIphicrates destroyed aSpartanphalanx in theBattle of Lechaeum in 390 BC, using mostlypeltasts. In the account ofDiodorus Siculus,Iphicrates is credited with re-arming his men with long spears, perhaps in around 374 BC. This reform may have produced a type of "peltast" armed with a small shield, a sword, and a spear instead of javelins.
Some authorities, such asJ.G.P. Best, state that these later "peltasts" were not trulypeltasts in the traditional sense, but lightly armored hoplites carrying thepelte shield in conjunction with longer spears—a combination that has been interpreted as a direct ancestor to theMacedonian phalanx.[7] However, thrusting spears are included in some illustrations ofpeltasts before the time of Iphicrates and somepeltasts may have carried them as well asjavelins rather than as a replacement for them. As no battle accounts describepeltasts using thrusting spears, it may be that they were sometimes carried by individuals by choice (rather than as part of a policy or reform). TheLykian sarcophagus of Payava from about 400 BC depicts a soldier carrying a roundpelte, but using a thrusting spear overarm. He wears apilos helmet with cheekpieces, but no armour. His equipment therefore resembles Iphicrates's supposed new troops. Fourth-century BCpeltasts also seem to have sometimes worn both helmets andlinen armour.
Alexander the Great employedpeltasts drawn from the Thracian tribes to the north of Macedonia, particularly theAgrianoi. In the 3rd century BC,peltasts were gradually replaced withthureophoroi infantrymen. Later references topeltasts may not in fact refer to their style of equipment as the wordpeltast became a synonym formercenary.
.jpg)
A tradition of fighting with javelins, light shield and sometimes a spear existed inAnatolia and several contingents armed like this appeared inXerxes I's army that invaded Greece in 480 BC. For example, thePaphlagonians and Phrygians wore wicker helmets and native boots reaching halfway to the knee. They carried small shields, short spears, javelins and daggers.[10]
From the mid-5th century BC onwards,peltast soldiers began to appear in Greek depictions ofPersian troops.[11] They were equipped like Greek and Thracianpeltasts, but were dressed in typicallyPersian army uniforms. They often carried light axes, known assagaris, as sidearms. It has been suggested that these troops were known inPersian astakabara and their shields astaka.[12] The Persians may have been influenced by Greek and Thracianpeltasts. Another alternative source of influence would have been the Anatolian hill tribes, such as theCorduene,Mysians orPisidians.[13] In Greek sources, these troops were either calledpeltasts orpeltophoroi (bearers ofpelte).
In theHellenistic period, theAntigonid kings of Macedon had anelite corps of native Macedonianpeltasts. However, this force should not be confused with the skirmishingpeltasts discussed earlier. Thepeltasts were probably, according to F.W. Walbank, about 3,000 in number, although by theThird Macedonian War, this went up to 5,000 (most likely to accommodate the eliteagema, which was a sub-unit in thepeltast corps). The fact that they are always mentioned as being in their thousands suggests that, in terms of organization, thepeltasts were organized intochiliarchies. This elite corps was most likely of the same status, of similar equipment and role as Alexander the Great'shypaspists. Within this corps ofpeltasts was its elite formation, theAgema. These troops were used on forced marches byPhilip V of Macedon, which suggests that they were lightly equipped and mobile. However, at thebattle of Pydna in 168 BC,Livy remarks on how the Macedonianpeltasts defeated thePaeligni and of how this shows the dangers of going directly at the front of a phalanx. Though it may seem strange for a unit that would fight in phalanx formation to be calledpeltasts,pelte would not be an inappropriate name for a Macedonian shield. They may have been similarly equipped with the Iphicratean hoplites orpeltasts, as described by Diodorus.[7]
Peltasts were usually deployed on the flanks of thephalanx, providing a link with any cavalry, or in rough or broken ground. For example, in theHellenica,Xenophon writes 'When Dercylidas learned this (that a Persian army was nearby), he ordered his officers to form their men in line, eight ranks deep (the hoplite phalanx), as quickly as possible, and to station thepeltasts on either wing along with the cavalry.[14]
They could also operate in support of other light troops, such as archers and slingers. In the absence of a large enough cavalry force, or when otherwise deemed appropriate,peltasts would also pursue retreating enemies at the end of a battle, in order to capture or kill men who had thrown away their weapons or been isolated from their formation during the rout.[4]
Peltasts (and other light troops, as ancient sources tend to group all types of light troops together) had a number of essential tasks on the march, away from the battlefield that were difficult to perform for the heavy infantry. They were often used to occupy mountain passes and defensible hills which the army would have to pass, to deny enemy forces a superior attacking position.[15] They would also lay ambushes in wooded or otherwise difficult terrain, defend the rear of the marching army against enemy pursuers, and detachments of light troops would also frequently be used to scout ahead when knowledge of the area and presence of enemies was not well established.[4]
When faced with hoplites,peltasts operated by throwing javelins at short range. If the hoplites charged, thepeltasts would retreat. As they carried considerably lighter equipment than the hoplites, they were usually able to evade successfully, especially in difficult terrain. They would then return to the attack once the pursuit ended, if possible, taking advantage of any disorder created in the hoplites' ranks. At theBattle of Sphacteria, theAthenian forces included 800 archers and at least 800peltasts.Thucydides, in theHistory of the Peloponnesian War, writes
They (the Spartan hoplites) themselves were held up by the weapons shot at them from both flanks by the light troops. Though they (the hoplites) drove back the light troops at any point in which they ran in and approached too closely, they (the light troops) still fought back even in retreat, since they had no heavy equipment and could easily outdistance their pursuers over ground where, since the place had been uninhabited until then, the going was rough and difficult.[16]
When fighting other types of light troops,peltasts were able to close more aggressively inhand-to-hand combat, as they had the advantage of possessing shields, swords, and helmets.
A type of infantryman called apeltast (peltastēs) is described in theStrategikon, a 6th-century AD military treatise associated with the earlyByzantine emperorMaurice.[17]Peltasts were especially prominent in theByzantine army of theKomnenian period in the late 11th and 12th centuries. Although thepeltasts of Antiquity were light skirmish infantry armed with javelins, it is not safe to assume that the troops given this name in the Byzantine period were identical in function. Byzantinepeltasts were sometimes described as "assault troops".[18] Byzantinepeltasts appear to have been relatively lightly equipped soldiers capable of great battlefield mobility, who could skirmish but who were equally capable of close combat.[19] Their arms may have included a shorter version of thekontarion spear employed by contemporary Byzantine heavy infantry.[20]
el nombre depeltarium (del griegopeltarion, diminutivo depelte, escudo)
Poropeltarion [...] is derived from the Latinparas, pore, andpeltarion, little shield.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
