The Hellenistic armies of the third century BC

The armies of the Hellenistic period were quite different from the earlier armies of the eastern Mediterranean. Initially, the various autonomous Greek cities continued to rely on hoplite phalanx militias, but the gradual dependence and, finally, the integration of many of them into the Hellenistic kingdoms brought about changes in their military organizations. Hoplite phalanxes were replaced by sarissa formations according to the Macedonian style. Mercenary formations of peltasts and archers were also formed to complement the small detachments of javelinmen and slingers they already had. The cavalry was reorganized into light (hippakon- tistai) and heavy on the model of the Macedonian Hetairoi. The Pontic cities and the Seleucids used mercenary horse archers from the steppe tribes. The Ptolemies and the Seleucids also used war elephants. The Celtic shield was…

You're reading a preview of

Ancient Warfare (Digital) - 1 Issue, AW XVII.2

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.