NIKOLOVA L. (ED.), EARLY SYMBOLIC SYSTEMS
CHAPTER 45
FOR
COMMUNICATION
IN
SOUTHEAST EUROPE
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS,
EQUIPMENT, AND TACTICS
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
The Odrysian Army
Although by Strabo’s time Thrace had been devastated to an
exceptional degree, he said that the region as a whole could
send into the field 15,000 cavalry and 200,000 infantry.1 This
would corroborate Herodotus’ statement that there were about
a million Thracians, which allows an army 100 – 200,000 strong.
It also makes creadible Thucycidides’ claim that when the
Odrysian king Sitalkes called up all Thracian troops south of
the Danube, 150,000 warriors poured “like a cloud of locusts”2
into Macedonia, carrying all before them. No wonder Herodotus
says of the Thracians that “were they under one ruler, or united,
they would... be invincible and the strongest nation on earth.”3
However, the army was not paid, but lived on booty, and the
majority of troops would have supplied their own equipment.
Consequently armies dissolved quickly if not succcessful.4
The Odrysian army was composed mainly of peltasts and
cavalry, the remainder being lighter infantry (javelin men,
archers, and slingers).5 In Sitalkes’ army, these warriors came
from the Odrysai, Getae, eastern Paionians (Agrianians and
Laeaeans), Treres, Tilateans, Apsinthii, Krobyzi, Dii (plus Bessi
and other mountain tribes), and Thyni. None of the tribes from
the Aegean coast (Edoni, Bisaltae etc) joined Sitalkes. Greek
mercenaries were occasionally hired to make up for the lack of
heavy infantry. Iphicrates had 8000 men in Thrace at one stage,6
but we cannot be sure if this was when he was in Kotys’ service
or when he was campaigning in the same area on Athens’ behalf.
Many of Iphicrates’ victories were gained using peltasts as the
main arm, but what Kotys needed was hoplites, and these
probably formed the mainstay of his mercenary force.
Unfortunately, when the Macedonians invaded, the Thracians
had no such infantry capable of defeating the Macedonian
phalanx.7
1
Strabo Geography 7.f47.
Aristophanes Acharnians, 145 – this was in autumn 429.
3
Herodotus V.3.
4
This might be one explanation for the brevity of Sitalkes’ campaign
against Macedonia.
5
Thucydides 2.100; Head, AOTMAPW, p 29;Head D., TTT, pp14-17.
6
Polyaenus 111.9.46. This would be the largest body of mercenary
troops who fought for the Thracians.
2
Tribes fought together as well as alone, but large
agglomerations were rare. More typical were the four tribes
that attacked Romans with 10,000 men in a mountainous defile
in 189, or the Triballi’s lone defence against Alexander the
Great. Tribal fragmentation meant that most Thracian armies
would have been 10-20,000 men strong.
One of the most powerful of these appeared in 400, when
Seuthes II hired the 6,000 or so survivors of Xenophon’s army
to get his own domain on the Black sea coast.8 They were mainly
hoplites, but included nearly 1,000 peltasts, javelinmen, and
slingers, and 50 cavalry9. Xenophon says simply that Seuthes
had an army larger than the Greek army; and that it tripled in
size as the news of its success spread. This could mean that
Seuthes’ army grew to a strength of around 20,000 men,
including the Greeks. 10 The Thracian contribution to this army
would have been around 4,000 Odrysian light cavalry, 500
heavy cavalry, 500 archers and slingers, 7,000 peltasts, and
2,000 javelin-armed lighter infantry.11
The army was organised along tribal lines, with each
contingent commanded by its own prince or his relatives. Since
the leaders expected to be in the forefront of battle, they would
have had little control over their armies once battle was joined.
In Sitalkes’ case (when fighting the Triballi), this also meant
7
eg Arrian, 1.2 – 1.4.
Op.cit. VII,7,23; I,7 – before the battle of Cunaxa there were 10,400
hoplites and 2,500 peltasts, but when they get to Thrace D. Head, in
‘Thracian Troop Types’, in Slingshot, September 1979, p 21 and J.G.P.
Best , Thracian Peltasts and their influence on Greek warfare, 1969,
p76 wrote their number had dwindled to 6,000. While Anabasis VII,
2 “...and with Xenophon there were about seventeen hundred hoplites
and about three hundred peltasts. Xenophon was the only one who
had cavalry, a force of about forty horsemen.” Diodorus Siculus XIV.
31.5 says 8,300 survived to reach the Bosphorus but they then split
up.
9
Xenophon, Anabasis III. 3.16; Anabasis VII. 3 also says “Seuthes
then went off, and Timasion, with about forty Greek horsemen, went
with him.”
10
Xenophon, Anabasis 7.5.15; 7.4.20.
11
These figures are based on the assumption that cavalry formed about
one third of the army, peltasts formed the bulk of the troops, and the
remainder were lighter infantry, with archers predominating over
slingers.
8
530
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
the death of the commander and loss of the battle. Commands
were transmitted by trumpet calls.12 Thracian musicians used
horns for giving signals, and also trumpets of raw ox-hide that
coud play music like that of a harp.13
It is probable that different Thracian tribes favoured
different fighting styles and had different proportions of trooptypes in their armies. For instance, in the Iliad, Euphemes
arrayed the Ciconians, men of the spear14, and Pryaechmes led
Paeonians, armed with the bow. Mountain tribes were more
warlike and favoured infantry, while those from the plains
favoured cavalry. The Odrysai fielded 8,000 horse (28%) and
20,000 foot against Lysimachos.15 A detachment of Odrysians
sent by Seuthes to aid the Spartans in Bithynia in 398 was
composed of 200 cavalry (40%) and 300 peltasts.16 Thucydides
says that the Getai and their neighbours by the Danube were all
mounted archers in the Skythian style.17 However, Alexander
faced a Getic army of 4000 horse and 10,000 foot, or about
28% cavalry.18 Seuthes hired 2,000 Getic light troops for use
against the Athenians in the Thracian Chersonese,19 which shows
they may have been a regular component of Odrysian armies.
So an Odrysian royal army might contain between 25% and
40% cavalry, while the army of a single tribe or group of hill
tribes might have much less.
The Odrysian Cavalry
Horse riding epitomised the Thracians. Euripides and Homer
called the Thracians “a race of horsemen”, and Thrace, “the
land of the Thracian horsemen”.20 This description seems justified, as even though the cavalry only made up a small proportion of their army, they were quite numerous. For instance,
although Sitalkes’ army was only one-third cavalry, this represented about 50,000 men. The majority of these were Odrysians
and Getai.21 Thus the Odrysians alone could outnumber all the
fifth-century Greek cities and other tribal kingdoms collectively
in cavalry forces.22 However, Macedonian heavy cavalry op12
Xenophon, Anabasis, 7.4.19.
Ibid, 7.3.32.
14
Illiad, Chapter 2.
15
Diodorus Siculus XVIII.14.2.
16
Xenophon, Hellenica III 2.2.
17
Thucydides 2.96.
18
Arrian, 1.4 –1.5.
19
Polyaenus, Stratagems of War 7.38.
20
Euripides, Hecabe, 7-10 (Penguin)
Polydorus: “To Thrace, to the palace of his old friend Polymestor,
who farms the fertile plain of this peninsula and rules over a race of
horsemen with his sword.”
p 84: (707-709) Hecabe: “It was my own trusted friend; the Thracian
horseman, to whose house Priam had sent him secretly.”
Homer Iliad 13.1 (Loeb)
Now Zeus, when he had brought the Trojans and Hector to the ships,
left the combatants there to have toil and woe unceasingly, but himself turned away his bright eyes, and looked afar, upon the land of the
Thracian horsemen,Homer, Iliad, XIV
Venus now went back into the house of Jove, while Juno darted down
from the summits of Olympus. She passed over Pieria and fair Emathia,
and went on and on till she came to the snowy ranges of the Thracian
horsemen, over whose topmost crests she sped without ever setting
foot to ground.
21
Thucydides 2.100.
22
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 204.
13
erated against them with impunity when Sitalkes invaded
Macedonia. “The Macedonians... made cavalry attacks on the
Thracian army when they saw their opportunity. Whenever they
did so, being excellent horsemen and armed with breastplates,
no one could stand up to them...”23 This happened again during the battle of Lyginus between Alexander and the Triballi.24
The cavalry were chiefly unarmoured javelin-armed skirmishers, with relatively few armoured cavalry forming a bodyguard for the king.25 This might explain why Sitalkes had no
troops able to stand up to the heavy Macedonian cavalry.
Against the Greeks, though, they seem to have had more success, with several Greek armies being wiped out during
colonisation attempts. Perhaps the best evidence for the success of Thracian cavalry is the way that the mainland Greeks
took up Thracian cavalry dress, and horsemanship. Athenian
riders wearing Thracian boots and/or Thracian headdress can
be seen on the Parthenon frieze, and wearing Thracian cloaks
on Athenian pottery.26
Horses were very important to Thracians, and seem to
have been of good quality.27 Studies of Thracian horses from
fourth century tombs show that they were larger than steppe
ponies and at least comparable to the breeds on the Greek mainland, which reached 1.34m or 13 hands. They had a long thick
mane, a short tail, and carried their heads high.28 The biggest
would have been between 1.36 and 1.44m, or 14 hands at the
withers, similar to stallions of the Przewalski horse.29 This
size, between that of a modern pony and a horse, is now called
a Galloway. It was still small enough that riders who rode with
their legs straight barely kept their feet off the ground.
Horses were trained and bred for racing, a prerequisite
for successful cavalry warfare. Xenophon rates Thracian horses
to be as good as Persian and Greek horses, and says that the
Odrysians habitually ran their horse races downhill.30 In the
Iliad, a Trojan spy reports that the Thracian king Rhesus has
the finest and strongest horses he has ever seen, “whiter than
snow and fleeter than any wind that blows.”31 The Megarians
asked an oracle who were better then they. The extraordinary
reply received was: “Better than all other land is the land of
Pelasgian Argos, Thracian mares are the best, and the
Lacedaemonian women.”32 Vergil describes three Thracian
horses: One had white fetlocks and “a snowy star” on the forehead; another was a piebald, while a third was dappled with
white. Horses in the Kazanluk paintings do not have any markings and are different shades of brown, except for a single white
23
Thucydides II, 100.
Arrian, 1.2 – 1.4.
25
Head, AOTMAPW, p 29; Head, TTT, pp 14-17.
26
Archibald Z., ibid pp 204-206; see Fig. 1.
27
Although J. K. Anderson (Ancient Greek Horsemanship, Univ. of
California Press, Berkeley, 1961, p22) deems the Thracian horse to
have been “a compound of all possible faults”, I have not found any
ancient sources that agree with him. His theory is that as Thrace had
been scourged by numerous wars and invasions, whatever was good
in the equine sense was stolen or destroyed. The same argument
would make possible an improvement via a mixture of breeds from
Asia; the argument about wars etc probably only applies after the
Macedonian conquest.
28
CAH Vol VIII, page 542.
29
Achibald Z., op. cit, p 205.
30
Xenophon On Horsemanship VIII.
31
Homer, Iliad, X
32
Theocritus Idyl xiv. 48.
24
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
TACTICS
Figure 1. 5th century Thracian light cavalryman with zeira, boots, fox skin cap, two javelins and a pelte slung on
his back. Note the small size of the horse (From a red figure pelike found near Sozopol).
531
532
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Figure 2a. Reconstruction of silver gilt harness ornaments 1 to 4, left to right. 1. 4th century, from Simeonovgrad, near
Haskovo HM Haskovo P.49. 2. 3rd or 2nd century, from Ravnogor, near Pazardzik (found with a hair from the forelock in
the hollow “horn”) , HM Pazardzik A4646-4652, 4707, 157. 3. c. 400 - 350, from Letnitsa 4.4th century, from the Lukovit
treasure. Archaeological Museum, Sofia. © Linda Dicmanis 2001
Figure 2b. Reconstruction of some other harness ornaments, by Linda Dicmanis. © Linda Dicmanis 2001. 1. Kralevo
treasure, Targoviste region, turn of 4th-3rd centuries BC (probably Getic). HM Targoviste 2298-2306 2. 4th century
harness ornamnents from the Lukovit treasure, Archaeological Musuem, Sofia 3. The silver headstall from Mramor
Moglia Panagyurishte district, 350-300., previously thought to have been a shield applique. It was found with five
circular ornaments. Archaeological Museum, Sofia. It is 32 cm long, which Linda Dicmanis found to fit exactly onto
a horse’s head. © Linda Dicmanis 2001
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
TACTICS
Figure 3. Triballi or Getic horsemen on Silver-gilt jug from the 4th century Rozogen treasure,
National Museum of History inv. No22459. Note the saddle and chest strap decorations, and the
“horn” on the horses’ heads.
533
534
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Figure 4. The tombstone of a 1st century AD
Thracian auxiliary cavalryman, from Gloucester.
He uses a lancea, but may also have had a case of
javelins. The details of his clothes and armour
were probably painted on, but have now disappeared. The inscription reads: “Rufus Sita, cavalryman of the 6th cohort of Thracians. 40 years old
and 22 years of military service. His heirs erected
this stone in accordance with his will. Here he lies.”
Author’s photograph.
Figure 5. The Alexandrovo tomb, 400-375. It consists of two rooms - a rectangular entryway and a round chamber with a
high dome. Both rooms are covered with murals: men, animals, plants and geometric motifs. Note the unusual shape to
the spears, the similarities to the Kazanluk paintings, the horse trappings, and the Greek costumes.
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
535
TACTICS
Fugure 5 (Continued).
536
Figure 6. Silver-gilt fourth century Thracian (probably Triballi) horse
ornaments from Lukovit. The rider wears a draping chlamys and a
tunic reaching to his mid-thigh. Note the bridle rings and chest strap
decorations. Archaeological Museum, Sofia, No. 8214.
horse. White horses were evidently special, as one was presented to Seuthes II at the banquet attended by Xenophon.33 In
the Alexandrovo tomb, the horses are wholly painted grey,
white, brown, or yellow.
It is interesting to note that Thracian horses seem to have
been larger than Skythian and Saka horses, which were of the
Przewalski type - small, stocky ponies with naturally short
manes and long tails. Scythian horses found in permafrost
graves were chestnut, browns, bays or jet black. None were
dapple grey, mottled bay, skewbald, roan or grey. White
patches, which are common on modern brown horses, were
absent. It is thought the Skythians avoided light coloured or
white marked horses, as they had a corresponding light coloured
hoof that was easily injured. So apparently, it was not until the
invention of the horseshoe, that we start to see white patches
on horses extremities.34
The horse trappings were well crafted and highly decorative, and horses wearing all the items discovered in Thracian
tombs must have made a fine sight.35 A variety of harnessing
methods was used, some of which resembled Skythian and
Persian practice. Leather bridles in red or dark brown colour
consisted of side-straps, nose bands with or without chinstraps,
often forehead-straps and throat-lashes. Reins were the same
colour. The harness fittings (most often disks or rings,) were
made of a mixture of iron, bronze, gold, and silver, or bronze
and silver.
Harness fittings were adorned like the those of the
Skythians, featuring real or fantastic animals, but many featured distinctive anthropomorphic motifs, including the
33
Xenophon, Anabasis7.3.34.
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Thracian horseman and Thracian mythology. Sometimes hundreds of exquisitely crafted ornaments were used on a single
horse. “There was a separate native tradition which nevertheless grew closer to similarly evolving Royal Skythian schemes
during the fourth century. At the same time, Greek influences
became increasingly more prominent.”36 The meaning of these
ornaments has often been discussed, but apparently not their
usage. The horse decorations painted in the Alexandrovo tomb
now show definitely how they were worn – one on the nose,
one on the forehead, and two on each side of the head. Except
for the nose decoration, the Alexandrovo paintings confirm
positions shown in the Kazanluk tomb paintings, which show
disks in these locations.
There are a lot of similarities to the Kazanluk figures: the
pose of the horses, fancy saddlecloths, clean-shaven faces, and
the low shoes. The nose and forehead ornaments in the
Alexandrovo tomb are significant in that similar decorations
have been found in other tombs but their use had not previously been illustrated. Where more than six appliques have
been found, the most likely location for the adornments would
be on the chest strap and along the forehead strap. Horses with
the most basic ring decorations generally only had them on
each side of the head.
250 silver appliques from Vratsa, 206 of which were tiny
heads, might have been attached to the reins, or sewn onto a
saddle cloth. Apart from the use of the saddle cloth, horses
were ridden bareback, as stirrups, horseshoes, and saddles were
yet to be invented. Although horses are often shown without
saddle cloths, this may have been artistic convention, meant to
show off the lines of the horse’s body. Xenophon says a man
may ride bareback, but assumes saddlecloths are standard, at
least for war. Most cloths were simple rectangles. The Scythians
used what was essentially a cushioned saddle cloth. Leather
covered cushions, stuffed with deer hair or straw, were stitched
with sinew thread with wooden supports. Xenophon recommends a thick quilted saddlecloth, and the pad may derive from
this.
The southern Thracians learned of the simple Skythian
saddle through their northern cousins, and it seems the
Odrysians were using it by the third century. One of the horses
from the Kazanluk paintings has a low dark brown saddle on a
cream and brown cloth. The 3rd century Sveshtari tomb shows
a Hellenised king of the Getai sitting on a richly decorated
saddle with four long pendants, painted red.
Many brightly coloured saddlecloths are shown on the
Kazanluk and Alexandrovo paintings. One is red with yellow
decoration, except that the tassels on the rear points are white.
Others are straight-edged and plain red. In the Alexandrovo
tomb, the saddle cloths are coloured blue and red, blue and
white, or red and white. Animal-skin saddle cloths were also
used.37
All have simple geometrical patterns - none show the
elaborate decorations used by the Skythians and Persians, who
included birds and flowers in their designs. The material used
for Thracian saddlecloths is unknown, but Skythian and Persian cloths were made of felt, sometimes with leather edging or
backing. Wool and hemp are other possibilities. They were
34
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/.
cavalry.html, 20/12/01.
35
See fig. 2.
36
Archibald Z. , op.cit., pp 247-251.
Head D., AOTMAPW, pp 127-128, 173-174; Webber Ch., op. cit.,
loc. cit; one is shown on the dome of the Kazanluk tomb.
37
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
537
TACTICS
Later cavalry developments
Figure 7. Tombstone of a mercenary Thracian cavalryman from
Abdera, dating to the second or first century. His equipment is typical of Thracian cavalry of the late Hellenistic period. He carries a
thureos, a long sword and a spear, and wears trousers, tunic and
cloak. National Archaeological Museum Sophia Inv. 8409.
held by breast and girth straps that were knotted around toggles
or spacers, buckles being unknown.
The Alexandrovo and Kazanluk tomb paintings show that
carrot-like tassels sometimes hung from the chest strap. The
chest strap was also often decorated with metallic disks of one
sort or another. In addition, The Lukovit applique shows a
chest strap decorated with a series of “X”’s. An interesting decoration is worn on the forehead of two Triballi or Getic horses
on a silver-gilt jug from the Rozogen treasure.38 This looks
like a unicorn horn bent backwards, and is similar to decorations used by Skythians. The same horse also has a saddle, and
metallic ornaments on the cheek and throat straps.
Most Thracian bits were quite severe and consisted of
two S-shaped branches with two or three rings or holes connected by a chain. These can be seen on the Alexandrovo tomb,
though on the Kazanluk tomb the outside branches are straight
with curved ends. Thracian bits are usually made of iron, or
iron covered with silver foil, although some may also have been
of bronze. The extent to which the Greek type (the ‘hard’ bit)
replaced or supplemented the native ones in Odrysian territories has still to be clarified, but this bit was rarely used before
the mid-fourth century. The Greek bit usually consists of bronze
parts fitted around an iron core with bronze links. It helps the
horse to salivate and makes it far easier to manoeuvre. 39
38
National Museum of History inv. No. 22459 (AG plate 83; AG
Helsinki No. 33); See Fig. 3.
The fourth century saw the start of many changes in cavalry
dress and equipment. The distinctive Thracian dress was discarded, additional armour of new types was worn, shields and
saddles came into use, and light infantry was trained to support
cavalry.40 Light cavalry was now likely to have the basic protection of helmet and shield, while heavy cavalry took to wearing iron helmets and composite corselets.
Early 2nd century Thracian noble cavalry had a force of
light infantry attached to them.41 These may have been trained
to fight alongside the cavalry and to hamstring the enemy horses.
Bithynian cavalry too seem to have been closely supported by
attached infantry. This is not recorded before the early 3rd
century and is probably a result of Hellenistic influence, as
Greek and Macedonian generals were using light infantry in
close support of their cavalry long before.42
From the late fourth century onwards, Odrysian cavalry
operated mostly as allied or subject troops. In particular,
Thracian troops were critical to the success of Alexander the
Great. They formed about one fifth of his army (25% of the
infantry and 20% of the cavalry to begin with) and took part in
almost all his battles. Of the forces that crossed to Asia, there
were 7,000 Odrysians, Triballi and Illyrians plus 1,000 archers
and Agrianians (a Paionian tribe) out of a total of 32,000 foot
soldiers.43 There were also 900 Thracian and Paeonian scouts,
out a total of 4,500 cavalry. A further 500 Thracian cavalry
joined Alexander’s army while it was at Memphis.44 A body of
Odrysian horse (probably heavy cavalry), commanded by
Sitalkes, an Odrysian prince, was likewise present.45 600
Thracian cavalry and 3,500 Trallians joined Alexander after
he left Babylon.46
At the battle of the Granicus in 334, Alexander deployed
the Thracians on his left flank, but they were not engaged during the battle.47 Thracian cavalry took part in Alexander’s rapid
march to Miletus,48 and Thracian javelinmen screened the
Macedonian left flank in battle against the Pisidians.49 Before
the Battle of Issos (333) we find Alexander using the “light
armed Thracians’’ to reconnoitre the mountainous surroundings of the Cilician Gates.50
At the subsequent battle the Thracians were initially in
the van of the army,51 then they were again posted on the left
wing, brigaded with Cretan archers.52 They were also on the
left wing at Gaugamela (331), when the savage Thracians (cavalry and infantry) helped beat off a sustained attack by superior
numbers of Persian cavalry.53 However, the Thracian infantry
had mixed success defending the baggage against the Indian
39
Archibald Z. , op.cit., pp 247-251.
Head D., AOTMAPW, pp 51, 127- 129.
41
Livy XLII.52.
42
Head D., AOTMAPW, p 51.
43
Diod. Sic. 17.17.4.
44
Arrian 3.5.
45
Arrian 3.13.
46
Diod. Sic. 17.65.1.
47
Arrian 1.14.
48
Arrian 1.18.
49
Arrian 1.29.
50
Curtius III. 4.
51
Curtius III.9.9.
52
Arrian 2.9.
40
538
cavalry. Although many other troops were allowed to return
home before or during the march to India, the Thracians stayed
on. 3,000 infantry and 500 horsemen would be left as a garrison on the Indus river near the present day city of Rawalpindi.54
At the battle of the Hydaspes (326 ), the Thracian light infantry
attacked the Indian elephants with “copides” (curved swords
or rhomphaias).55 The Agrianians in particular were given many
critical missions.56
Many other battles in the struggle for Alexander’s empire involved Thracian troops. Eumenes deployed Thracians
on his left flank at the battle of the Hellespont in 321.57 At
Paraitakene (317), 500 Thracian cavalry fought on one side
and 1000 cavalry fought on the other (possibly colonist
Thracians verses native Thracians – the native Thracians won).58
Thracian cavalry next rose to prominence in the wars with
the Romans. In 171 Perseus was joined by Kotys, king of the
Odrysai with 1,000 picked cavalry and about 1,000 infantry.59
Perseus already had 3,000 “free Thracians under their own
commander” in his forces.60 These fought “like wild beasts
who had long been kept caged”61 at the Kallinikos skirmish
that year, defeating the Roman allied cavalry. They returned
from battle singing, with severed heads as trophies. Their performance at the Battle of Pydna (168) was less remarkable –
they are only mentioned when running away62 Thracian cavalry are recorded switching sides in 109, when two mercenary
squadrons were bribed to let Jugurtha into a Roman camp.63
The last significant instance of the use of Thracian horsemen
seems to be in 71 - while Lucullus was campaigning in Pontus,
he used Thracian cavalry to successfully charge Armenian
cataphracts in the flank.64
However, Thracian cavalry continued in use. In 48 at the
Battle of Pharsalus, Kotys, the Odrysian king sent around 500
cavalry with his son Sadalas to join Pompey’s army in Greece.
Among Pompey’s infantry were members of the Bessi tribe,
some of them mercenaries, others conscripted or volunteers.
Pompey’s camp was “zealously defended by the Roman cohorts
left to guard it, but more fiercely still by the Thracian
53
Arrian 3.13 – 3.15.
They remained in India until 317, after which they came back to
Asia Minor, where they joined the mercenary armies of Alexander’s
successors. Florov & Florov, op. cit. p 47.
55
Curtius VIII. 14, 24-30
56
eg the flank attack on the Persian Gates (Arrian 3.18); During
the siege of Tyre Alexander took only “the shield bearing guards
and the Agrianians and set out to Sidon” (Arrian 2.19). They were
also on the right flank in nearly all the battles, usually brigaded
near the Companions or Royal Guards.
57
Diodorus XVIII 30-32; Plutarch, Eumenes.
58
Diodorus Siculus, XIX. 27.5 and 29.3. At the same time,
Diodorus XIX 14.5 says that Peucestes, Satrap of Persia had 600
Greek and Thracian cavalry.
59
Livy XLII.52.
60
Ibid.
61
Livy XLII.52.
62
Livy XLIV, 42: nevertheless, the cavalry (deployed on the
Macedonian right) survived the battle virtually unscathed, which
means that they either ran away without a fight, or must have made
a good account of themselves, as they were outnumbered and
probably had to face the more heavily armoured Pergamene cavalry.
63
Sallust, Jugurthine War, XXXVIII. There are several other
recorded instances of Thracian troops switching sides in the middle
of a battle.
64
Plutarch, Lucullus.
54
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
auxiliaries.”65 but Pompey was defeated by Caesar. 2,000
Thracian, Illyrian, Parthian, and Thessalian cavalry were at
Philippi in 42,66 while Thracian mercenaries and allies also
participated on the losing side in 31 at the Battle of Actium,
when Octavian defeated Mark Antony.67
After Thrace became a province in 46 AD, troops raised
there fought throughout the Roman world, including Britain.
The tombstone of a 1st century AD Thracian cavalryman, Rufus
Sita (presumably he had red hair like his ancestors), was found
in Gloucester and is now on show in the city museum, and a
Thracian shrine has been excavated in Dorset. Another Thracian
cavalryman has his tombstone from Wroxeter on display in
Shrewsbury’s Rowley House museum.68 At the other end of
the empire, in the Crimea, Lucius Furius Seuthes left his equestrian tombstone.69
Costume
From the 7th to the 4th centuries, Thracian light cavalry wore a
tunic, cloak (zeira), cap (alopekis) and boots (embades).70
Thracian warriors with this dress are common in 6th-5th century Greek art, and still described by Xenophon in the early
4th.71 Other less sophisticated examples of Greek pots show
Thracian cavalry dressed very simply in a pointed hat and long
flowing tunic, and they are indistinguishable from Skythian
cavalry. This costume would probably still be in use in middle
of the fourth century, as the costume is still worn by the Thracian
warrior goddess Bendis on an Athenian relief of about 350 –
though newer styles had already begun to supplant it.72 Some
4th century Thracian metalwork shows the cavalryman bareheaded and with bare feet, a medium length flowing cloak and
simple tunic. The exact colours of earlier Thracian costume,
although described as brightly coloured, are unknown. The
tomb paintings use rather dull colours, and are not much help
prior to 350. Thracian clothing was made of hemp, flax, or
wool and was well regarded for its fine quality and texture.73
Outer garments were sewn, naturally or artificially dyed, with
woven or embroidered decoration. The way in which the clothes
were worn depended on the season and on the type of work
practiced, with certain regional differences.74 The northern
Thracians wore narrow trousers and a short shirt tucked into
them, combined with an outer tunic, tied at the waist.75 Over
65
Caesar, Civil Wars, II.95
Appian, The Civil Wars, IV, XI, 87-88; Kotys, king of the
Sapaioi, hedged his bets on this battle – he sent one of his sons,
Raskos, to the camp of the Caesarians, and the other one,
Raskouporis, to the republicans.
67
Plutarch, Mark Antony: King Sadalas of Thrace came to his
support, but Dicomes, king of the Getae only promised his support.
King Rhoemetalkes supported Octavian at this battle.
68
See Fig. 4.
69
Sokolov G., Antique Art on the Northern Black Sea Coast,
Leningrad, 1974, Fig 172.
70
Herodotus VII.75; see fig 1.
71
Xenophon, Anabasis VII.4.
72
See fig. 5. None of the people painted on the walls of the
Alexandrovo tomb wear this costume.
73
Herodotus IV, 74; Euripides, Hecabe, 1153-1155 p 98 (Penguin).
74
Georgieva R., Spiridonov T., & Rekho M. Thracian Ethnology,
Univ. Press “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”, Sofia, 1999: English summary
at http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/thrac/ethno/
thrac_ethnol.html.
66
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
this clothing, cloaks, fur coats and the characteristic Thracian
zeira were used. These were decorated with fibulae, leather or
textile bells, and various other articles of adornment.76 The
total effect was quite impressive – Plato says he thought the
Thracian contingent marching in an Athenian religious festival
put on a better show than the citizens (they must have looked
really good, as this is saying that barbarians are better than
citizens, even in a small way).77
The cap was called alopekis, meaning fox-skin, in Greek.
Art shows a wide variety of Thracian caps, in three main styles.
One was clearly made of a fox’s skin, its face perched above
the wearer’s forehead, with neck- and cheek-flaps of patterned
cloth. A second style shows the same neck- and cheek-flaps
attached to a low-crowned cap of cloth or felt, or sometimes
perhaps dappled cowhide. The third style is a simple highcrowned “Phrygian” cap, again with neck and cheek-flaps all
apparently made in one piece.78
Noble Odrysian cavalry may have worn tattoos. Tatooing
was a sign of birth, though there is no evidence that it was
practiced by Odrysian men.79 Noble Thracian women showed
off their status by wearing richer and more brightly coloured
designs, some of which are shown on the Vratsa greave.80 They
were tattooed on their faces and with spots on their arms,
supposedly to commemorate the murder of Orpheus (by
Thracian women).81 Although there are no known depictions
of tattooed Thracian warriors, the noblemen may have adopted
this pracatice, for the Agathyrsi (a Skythian tribe near the
Thracians with some Thracian customs) are said to have tattooed
both their faces and their limbs with distinctive tribal marks.
The sort of tattoos worn were probably similar to the spirals
and animal motifs worn by Skythian chiefs.82 The Getai, being
under heavy Skythian influence, are especially likely to have
followed this custom.
There are, however, lots of paintings of the Thracian tunic and cloak. The Thracian tunic was knee-length and sleeveless. It was tied at the waist, and belt buckles with wolf motifs
were common.83 The tunic was frequently patterned like the
cloak, but sometimes was unmarked or patterned at the hem
only. The cloak (zeira) was worn over the top of the tunic and
was the most striking article of Thracian dress. The peltasts
and cavalry wore it, but probably not the lighter infantry. It
covered the whole body like a blanket, and seems to have been
of heavy material, since the paintings show it as stiff and not
75
539
TACTICS
See fig. 3.
Ibid.
77
Plato Republic 327a.
78
Head D., ‘Thracian Troop Types’, Slingshot, No 85, September
1979, p 14 – only mentions two types but Duncan now agrees with
me that there were three. See www.the-thracians.com/appearan.htm.
79
Herodotus V.6.
80
Levi P., Atlas of the Greek World, 1987, P 127.
81
Head D., ‘Thracian Troop Types’, Slingshot, No 85, September
1979, p 15.
82
Trippett F., The First Horsemen, Time Life Books, 1980, p 113
shows these tattoos; however M E Durham Some Origins, Laws &
Customs of th Balkans, London, 1928, (Figure 3, p 103 & figure 4, p
105) suggests that sun and moon symbols were the most common, as
sun worship was a prominent Thracian religion.
83
Paunova V., Warrior’s Belt Appliques from Thrace (6th-4th Century BC), , in Archaeologia Bulgarica, Vol 3, No. 2, 1999, pp 15-29..
hanging in folds. This would suit the mountain tribes, who had
to deal with very cold winters and cool nights during the summer. It was very long, often reaching to the feet. The top
portion could be folded over as a sort of collar, or the top corners could be turned in to hang over the chest or thrown back
over the shoulders. It was held on by a single fibula or brooch
at the left shoulder, and was often worn like a Greek cloak
(draped over the left shoulder, leaving the right arm free). The
cloak was boldly patterned with lozenges, zig-zag and castellated lines, and other geometric motifs.84 Like the clothes worn
by Balkan people until recently, the patterns probably indicated
the owner’s tribe and region of origin, and groups of warriors
from the same area probably wore similar patterns (though this
is hard to establish as few Greek vases show groups of
Thracians).85
Thracian boots (embades) were another distinctive feature. They were made from fawnskin, and (in contrast to Greek
and Roman styles) entirely covered the feet and part of the
lower leg. The boots were laced up at the front, usually with a
number of flaps hanging down from the top. These boots were
ideal for the colder climate of the mountains, or for cavalry
use. They may even have provided some protection for the
legs against wounds.86
Thracian costume of the Hellenistic and Roman eras
A dramatic change in appearance began during the fourth
century, reflecting Greek influence. The evidence comes from
wall paintings in tombs near Kazanluk (early 3rd century),
Alexandrovo (early 4th century), and Sveshtari (3rd century).
These also provide the first colour references. They show that
the beards, tattoos, cloaks, boots, hats, and top-knots have all
disappeared. At this time also, archaeological evidence proves
that some Thracians began to wear (usually three) bronze or
gold torcs around their necks.87 Bare feet, sandals, or yellowish
or red-brown shoes with turned-up toes replaced the boots. As
a result of these changes, the Thracians who fought for
Alexander would have been very similar in appearance to the
Macedonians and Greeks in his army.88
Most tunics at Kazanluk are simple, single colour garments, either with patterned borders, or free of any decoration.
Some are short-sleeved, and others are sleeveless. In the latter
case it was probably fastened at the shoulder with pins, as it is
occasionally shown leaving the right shoulder and chest bare.
The colours of the cloaks and tunics at Kazanluk include red,
76
84
See Fig 1.
Herodotus VII.75; Xenophon, Anabasis VII.4; Duncan Head, op.
cit. p 15; Archibald, op. cit. pp 207-208; Warry, op. cit. p 50;
Georgieva et al. – summary.
86
Herodotus VII.75; Xenophon, Anabasis VII.4; Head, op. cit. p 15;
Archibald, op. cit. pp 207-208. See fig. 1.
87
eg Marazov I. (ed), op. cit. plate 200 (p 234); Fol A. (ed) Ancient
Thrace, Gold and Silver Treasures from Bulgaria 5000 BC- 300AD,
(catalogue of the Helsinki exhibition) 2000, Item 40, p 80.
88
Zhivkova L., The Kazanluk Tomb, Recklinghausen, 1975, plates
14-18; A. Fol et al The Thracian Tomb Near the Village of Sveshtari,
Sofia, 1986, pp 110-113; Webber Ch., ‘The Alexandrovo Tomb and
Other Recent Discoveries’, Slingshot 216, July 2001, pp 47-50;
w w w. t h e -t h r ac i an s . c o m / a l ex a n d r o vo _ t o m b. h t m ; h t t p :/ /
members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/thrac/aleksandrovo_1.htm; www.thethracians.com/kazanluk.htm. The Alexandrovo tomb is not yet published. See Fig. 3.
85
540
white, red-brown, pale blue, pale green, cream, light blue, and
off-white. At Alexandrovo there is one tunic that is brown
with two white vertical stripes down both sides. It is like the
tunic of one servant on the dome of the Kazanluk tomb. It is
red-brown with one white stripe on each sleeve and two down
each side. Another Alexandrovo cavalier wears a red tunic;
another wears a white tunic decorated with a few vertical thin
orange lines, and a third wears a white tunic decorated with
thick brown vertical lines down the sides. They are cleanshaven, two with short hair and one with long hair. The cavalryman in the white tunic might have a Greek petasos hat on,
but it is more likely just a random white splotch instead. The
Sveshtari horseman (a Getic king) is wears an unmarked short
tunic and chlamys, but the colour cannot be determined. The
Thracians at the battle of Pydna (168) wore black tunics.89 Few
of the infantry at Kazanluk, and none of the figures at
Alexandrovo wear cloaks.90
One of the riders in the Alexandrovo tomb wears a longsleeved blue top under his white tunic (which is decorated with
a few thin vertical orange lines). This figure’s combination of
long sleeves showing under the short-sleeved tunic is similar
to Dacian dress centuries later. It may have been inspired by
the Persians. On both the Alexander Mosaic and Sarcophagus
(including the Hunt Frieze from Philip II’s tomb and several
other visual sources) long sleeved tunics are shown being worn
by Philip, Alexander and aristocratic cavalrymen - this is also
repeated on bronze and terracotta figures. Such tunics may have
been borrowed by the Macedonian court, inspired or influenced
by high ranking Persian dress (along with purple cloaks). But
then again, perhaps the Thracian nobles took the fashion from
the Persians first, and it was in turn taken up by their neighbours,
the Macedonians It seems that vertically stripped tunics became all the rage during the 4th century in this general part of
the world. A figure on the Alexander Sarcophagus (often identified as a servant) wears a tunic with two thin vertical stripes and a number of servants (and / or grooms?) appear to the left
of the solider symposium tomb painting from Agios Athanasios
(near Thessaloniki) wearing similar tunics - not dissimilar to
those worn by figures from both Kazanluk and Alexandrovo.91
Since the paintings are early 4th century, they help to
answer the perennial question of what Alexander’s Thracians
may have looked like – his armies are located chronologically
in between Kazanluk (and Sveshtari) and Alexandrovo. It looks
like the Hellenisation of the Thracians began much earlier than
previously thought, and had a longer time to percolate down to
the lower levels of society.
Thracian heroes and gods carved in stone and metalwork
during the early Roman era show that the Thracians took to
wearing Roman and Celtic dress. Some also wore trousers.
They had curly hair, may have worn torcs, and a tunic or cloak
held on by a single circular brooch on the left shoulder.92 The
tunic is in some cases folded and pleated many times vertically
and tucked in around the waist. The folds almost concealed a
belt that was won together with a baldric. In this case, the
length of the tunic was adjusted by pulling it up through the
89
Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus 18.
Webber Ch. , op. cit, pp 47-49; Head, op. cit, p 17; Head D.,
AOTMAPW, pp 124-129.
91
This information supplied by David Karunanithy from his research
for his forthcoming book on the Macedonians.
92
See above.
90
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
belt.93
Armour
Armour was initially restricted to the noble cavalry, but in the
fourth century many troops began wearing helmets, and peltasts
started wearing greaves. There was a marked difference between northern and southern Thrace, with the northern
Thracians wearing Skythian-style panoplies, and the southern
Thracians wearing Greek equipment (with Thracian alterations).
Thracian warriors commonly used armour that was older than
the rest of their equipment, or a mixture of armour and weapons from different styles and periods.94 Some types of armour
persisted long after they ceased to be used elsewhere. Assuming burials reflected actual practice, Thracians in this period
often wore a mixture of Thracian and Greek equipment, and
only one or two pieces of armour, not a complete panoply.95
Finally, Thracian troops of the Thracian client-kingdom were
equipped “in the Roman style”,96 which may have meant that
they wore Roman mail shirts and helmets, and carried Roman
shields. They continued to use these when they became
Thracian auxiliaries in Roman service.97
Shields
Thracian light cavalry are sometimes shown with a pelte
strapped to their back.98 Although Clement of Alexandria’s
Stromata99 asserts that the Thracians were the first to use shields
on horseback, it is assumed that the shield protected against
attacks from the rear, as they are not depicted using them in
battle. The cavalry only used their shields (if they had any) for
dismounted action, until the 3rd century.100 Until then, it seems
even the heavy cavalry used a pelte.
The pelte101 was usually crescent- shaped but which might
also be circular or oval.102 Greek pots provide our only visual
record of peltai. Some sources mention bronze and even gold
as materials used in their construction.103 However, for the most
93
Barker Ph., Armies and Enemies of the Macedonian and Punic
Wars, 1st edition, 1971. See fig. 6.
94
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 197.
95
Ibid.
96
Florus II, XXVII.
97
Cheshire, op. cit p 13.
98
eg 4th century red figure vase from Sozopol shown on p 46, A
Fol, AT – see fig. 7.
99
From Clement of Alexandria’s Stromata (“Miscellanies”), Chap.
XV1. The Inventors of Other Arts were Mostly Barbarians: “The
Thracians first invented what is called a scimitar (arph [?]) - it is a
curved sword, - and were the first to use shields on horseback. Similarly also the Illyrians invented the shield (pelta)...and that Itanus (he
was a Samnite) first fashioned the oblong shield (thureous)...The
Carthaginians were the first that constructed a tritereme ...and the
Sidonians the first to construct a trireme...These things [ a whole host
of inventions are described, covering all manner of objects] are reported by Seame of Mytilene, Theophrastus of Ephesus, Cydippus of
Mantinea, also Antiphanes, Aristodemos, and Aristotle and besides
these, Philostephanus, and also Strato the Periapatetic, in his book
Concerning Inventions.”
100
Head D., AOTMAPW, pp 127- 129 – the use of cavalry shields is
thought to have spread from the Tarantines.
101
It was called the pelte (plural peltai) in Greek, or pelta (plural
peltae) in Latin.
102
Best J.G.P., op. cit. pp 9-11; Head D., loc. cit .
103
Best J.G.P., op. cit, p3; Grant Ch.,op. cit.; Archibald Z., op. cit.
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
541
TACTICS
Figure 8. A Thracian cavalryman with a large ribbed circular shield, from the Pydna monument.
part these small shields lacked a rim or any kind of bronze
facing, and were made of perishable materials (generally a wood
or wicker frame covered with goat or sheep skins).104 Traces
of such a shield made of some organic material, fixed with
bronze nails, have been found in a tumulus near Debnevo in
the Lovech district.105
Most vase-paintings show the pelte decorated, either with
a simple face, animals, or with more complex designs quite
different to those on hoplite shields.106 The pelte was usually
carried with an arm-strap and a leather or cord handle at the
rim, or slung on the back using a back strap.107 Although the
arm-strap is sometimes shown as indistinguishable from the
bronze porpax of the hoplite shield, this could be a heroic artistic convention on the part of Greek vase painters.108 The
single central grip would then have been more common.
Xenophon describes a Thracian whose slung pelte caught between the stakes of a fence he was trying to clamber over.109
Thracian cavalry appear to have followed the Greeks in
pp 203-204.
104
Warry J., pp 50-51, 61.
105
Archibald Z., op.cit. pp 203-204.
106
See Fig. 8.
107
Head D., loc. cit.
108
Connolly P., op. cit. p 48.
109
Xenophon, Anabasis 7.4.17.
adopting shields around 275.110 Cavalry shields could be round
with a central boss,(shown on 1st century carvings of the
Thracian hero) oval like the thureos (shown on the Abdera
tombstone),111 or very large and circular with a spine boss (the
style on the Pydna monument).112 Greek hoplite shields were
rare in Thrace. Parts of only two have been found: a bronze
rim and palmetto-decorated handgrip were found in a fourth
century tomb near Topolovgrad, and a fragment of a similar
rim (plus armour) was in a grave at Svetlen.113 The late fifth
century silver-gilt belt from Lovets apparently depicts armoured
riders carrying hoplite shields, but it is more likely that these
are just dents or other damage.
Other large circular shields are shown on a relief from
the Apadana, Persepolis, on a stag head gold rhyton from the
Panagyurishte treasure, and on a Bithynian coin. None of these
are shown in use by cavalry. The Persepolis shield is very
110
Head D., AOTMAPW, p 127. Thracian cavalry on the Pydna monument, the Abdera tombstone, and some (later) depictions of the
Thracian hero all carry shields. All these artifacts are dated to the 3rd
century or later.
111
Sekunda N., The Seleucid Army, Montvert Publications, Stockport,
1994 , pp 72, 17-18, and fig. 7.
112
See Fig 2.
113
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 204.
542
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Figure 9. 5th century silver gilt belt from Lovech depicting heavy cavalry in leather armour with pteryges. The
left-hand rider appears to be wearing a Corinthian helmet and carrying a shield, though the latter is unlikely as
he would be carrying it in his right hand. Archaeological Museum Sofia inv. No. 6617. Drawing © Daniella
Carlsson 2001
Figure 9 (Continued).
Figure 10. Reconstruction of a late 5th century Thracian noble cavalryman in bell
cuirass and Chalkidian helmet, © Johnny Shumate 2001.
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
TACTICS
543
Figure 11. The procession drawn on the lunette (back wall) of the 3rd century Sveshtari tomb. The drawing is in charcoal, as
the tomb was unfinished. It shows a Hellenised king of the Getai being crowned by the Thracian mother goddess. The richly
decorated saddle has four long pendants, painted red. The horseman is wearing a short tunic and chlamys. His right hand is
outstretched towards the Goddess. Behind his ear there is a ram’s horn, like those of other 3rd century monarchs. Two men,
probably servants, walk behind the horseman. The first man, wearing a strange hat that may be a helmet or pilos, carries a
long spear over his left shoulder, while his right hand holds a scabbard, from which dangles the shoulder-strap. The second
man, dressed in a knee-length garment, holds a shield in his right hand.
544
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Figure 12. Kazanluk tomb.
convex in section, and apparently made of uncovered wicker.114
The Nikomedes I (279-255) Bithynian coin shows a large round
shield, slightly smaller than an aspis, carried by the goddess
Bendis, along with two javelins and a straight sword with scabbard and baldric. The shield is either decorated with circles of
rivets, or perhaps has an embossed metal facing.115 Athena’s
circular shield on the rhyton (circa 300 BC), has a sunburst
design, and a wide rim similar to an aspis. This indicates that it
is a standard depiction of Athena, who wears Greek dress, so
this probably does not indicate Thracian use (even though two
other figures on the rhyton wear Thracian or Phrygian dress).116
The thureos may have been borrowed from the Illyrians, who
had been carrying similar shields from at least the 7th century.117
The Kazanluk friezes, which predate the Celtic invasions in
279, show several examples of long flat oval shields being used
114
Head D., TTT, p 15.
Davis N. & C.M Kraay, The Hellenistic Kingdoms, Thames &
Hudson, London,1973, plates 186, 187, 190.
116
Venedikov I., op. cit. No 363 and Marazov I., op. cit. Plate 73.
See www.the-thracians.com/armour.htm (shields).
117
Head D., AOMAPW, p 126.
115
by Thracian foot warriors. One of these has the distinctive rib
of the thureos, but the others do not and it is possible they may
represent a flat ribless shield. A large, flat, oval-shaped fourth
century shield found near Kyustendil was faced with bronze,
which glitters even today.118 This may have been the type of
shield carried by the Kazanluk men. Alternatively the Kazanluk
shields might have been wicker, as they are painted rimless,
wicker- coloured and flat. They have three loops hanging down
on the inside, used for a single hand grip, or perhaps for slinging
on the back.
The thureos shown in use by the cavalryman on the
Abdera tombstone was made of wood, with a central wooden
spine and usually an iron boss.119 It could be oval or rectangular in shape, covered in leather, and painted. The thick rim
sometimes depicted was probably the leather covering doubled
over at the edges. The shield’s strong construction and central
handgrip may have allowed it to be used as a weapon to crush
an opponent.120 Sekunda121 says that a mid-2nd century version
of this shield from Sidon seems to have had a metal rim (perhaps bronze, not iron) and with a metal spine on top of, or even
replacing, the wooden one. However there is no evidence that
the Thracians used this later type, which would have made skirmishing difficult. A c. 2nd century stele from Phrygia shows
two more likely possibilities.122 It displays two men who have
been killed by the Bithynian Menas. One has a conventional
ribbed oval thureos, while the other has a ribbed rectangular
thureos. One of these two men, but we don’t know which, is a
Thracian. Another grave stone from Bithynia also shows
118
In the Kystendil museum, where I found it. See www.thethracians.com/armour.htm (shields).
119
Connolly P., op. cit. pp 118-120.
120
I gained this insight from discussions with dark age re-enactors,
who used similar shields for this purpose.
121
Sekunda N., The Ptolemaic Army, Montvert Publications, Stockport
1995, p 22.
122
Bar-Kochva B., ‘Menas’ Inscription and Corupedion’, Scripta
Classica Isrealica 1, 1974, p 14 .
Figure 12a. The Chariot horses from the dome of the Kazanluk tomb. Note their harness ornaments.
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
545
TACTICS
Figure 12b. Kazanluk tomb.
Bithynian infantry with the oval thureos, so the oval shield is
more likely.123 A 2nd century Bithynian warrior’s tombstone from
Alexandria also shows a (yellowish or white) oval thureos with
a spine boss.124 Menas’ stele is close in date to the battle of
Pydna (168), so perhaps the Thracian infantry at Pydna carried
one of these types of shield.
Helmets
common found in central and southern Thrace.129 Before 350
the most frequently used form was the simple version, with
engraved, stylised eyebrows. This has a slight ridge separating
the skull and sides, the neckguard recessed inwards; a curved
opening for the ears; deep, rounded cheekpieces hammered out
from the sides, and a short nosepiece. An advanced late fifthcentury version from Rouets has a relatively high crown, longer,
sickle-shaped cheekpieces, and long, pronounced eyebrows
meeting in a curved “V”-shape across the front. Two bands of
engraved ornament separate the skull from the sides.130 Another
late fifth century example of unknown provenance is decorated
with griffins on both sides of the crown, and palmettos on the
eyebrows. It may have had iron cheek pieces but it is badly
damaged and these have disappeared.131
After 350, a new version of the Chalkidian helmet came
into use. The new type had two variants, with fixed or hinged
cheekpieces.132 One fabulous example of this later construction is all bronze except for iron cheek pieces. It looks like a
Hollywood barbarian’s helmet, as it has tall bronze horns and
fittings for a Greek style horsehair crest. It was found in a 4th
century grave at Bryastovets near the Black Sea.133 In the fixed
form, “the neckguard, shaped to fit the back of the neck, extends towards the shoulders, while the broad cheekpieces have
vertical sides toward the cheeks, curving up at the back and
over the ears. The brows are lightly profiled and there is a
vestigial nosepiece. The crown is raked back sharply from the
129
Archibald, op.cit, p 201
Ibid.
131
National Archaeological Museum Inv. No. 4013; Gold der
Thraker No. 187.
132
Archibald, op.cit, p 201.
133
I. Venedikov, Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria, 1976, item.
246, p55; Gold der Thraker, 1980, item 242; Head, op.cit. p21.
130
The most important Thracian helmets styles were Chalkidian,
Corinthian, Thracian, Attic, and Skythian (or Northern).125
Helmet styles continued in use in Thrace after they had gone
out of fashion elsewhere, and it took some time before newer
versions were taken up by Thracian troops. A lot of helmets
found in Thrace show signs of repeated wear and tear, with
riveted inserts and tenons.126 Many hybrids and variants also
occur; one Thraco-Boeotian model, from Moldavia, has the
skull of the former and the downswept brim of the latter.127
Helmets were lined in felt or leather, or worn over caps, as the
remains of a felt cap have been found inside a Thracian helmet
from Pletena, and leather remains inside other helmets.128
The Chalkidian helmet (in two models) was the most
123
Rumsheid F. & W. Held ‘Erinnerungen an Mokazis’, 1stMitt 44,
1994, pp89-106, Tafel 20. This shows an early 2nd century Bithynian
funary banquet, battle scene, and hunting scene on a grave monument
for members of an indigenous family of notables, with ThracoBithynian names. It was found under 8m of sediment at Adliye on the
Sangarius, thought to be the site of ancient Tarsos.
124
Sekunda N., op. cit. Fig 77.
125
Archibald Z., loc. cit.
126
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 252.
127
Head D., TTT, p 18; Best J.G.P., op. cit, plate 6. See www.thethracians.com/helmets_main.htm.
128
Salminen T. (ed), Ancient Thrace: Descriptions of the exhibits,
Exhibition in the Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, January 22April 16, 2000 p 13.
Figure 12c. The figure supposed to be Seuthes III from the western
side of the dromos of the Kazanluk tomb – note how he holds his
spear.
546
Figure 12d. Reconstruction of peace negotiations between two belligerents in the eastern frieze from the dromos of the Kazanluk tomb The figures on the left side are thought to be from
a Macedonian army. Note their long lances, all carried underarm. © Johnny Shumate 2001
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
Figure 12e. Reconstruction of the battle scene on the western side western frieze from the entrance corridor (dromos) of the late fourth û early third century Kazanluk tomb. Many of
the figures are badly damaged, and their appearance is conjectural. The soldiers in both friezes are lightly armed and have almost the same weapons - long spears, curved swords
(some possibly rhomphaias) and oval shields. © Johnny Shumate 2001
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
547
TACTICS
Figure 13. Phalera (bridle cheekpiece) 7cm diameter, from Letnitsa, mid-fourth
century BC. This shows clearly how horses were harnessed. Museum of History, Lovech, inv. No. 591.
sides.”134 “On helmets with hinged cheekpieces, there is a high,
well-rounded crown from front to back. A gentle curve separates the skull from the straight neckguard, shaped at the lower
edge, and the tongue-shaped cheekpieces are longer.”135 These
more complicated helmets are likely to have belonged to the
noble cavalry and Thracian commanding officers, who also
wore elaborate Greek parade helmets, including a sheet gold
composite version found at Panagyurishte.136
After the Macedonian conquest, many of the helmets mimicked the Thracian caps, so that these helmets are known as
Phrygian (or Thracian) helmets. The “Thracian” helmet appeared in Greece in the middle of the 5th Century, but strangely
enough, although more of this type have been found in Thrace
than anywhere else, it is rarely found in Thracian burials before the Hellenistic era.137 It was distinguished by a peak to
shade and protect the eyes, a short neck guard, and long cheekpieces shaped to fit the face, pointed at the chin, and was sometimes decorated with a stylised beard and moustache in relief.
The skull shape varied enormously; sometimes it was low and
rounded, sometimes conical, but the most spectacular and distinctive was the Phrygian type with a high, forward sweeping
metal ridge, very similar to the shape of the traditional cap.
They were made mostly from bronze (often in a single piece),
but some included iron. A Phrygian style helmet found at
Pletena, in the Rhodopes mountains of Bulgaria (with a
rhomphaia) was made with a sheet of bronze to cover the lower
face, moulded to imitate beard locks and a moustache. The top
part of the helmet was made of iron sheets joined together with
134
135
136
137
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 253.
Ibid.
Ibid, p 254.
Ibid.
the aid of iron bands and rivets.138 Such helmets were often
crested and sometimes had extra crests or feathers as side-ornaments. A recently discovered early 4th century Thracian example from Pletena is also extensively decorated with silver
appliqués.139 In the Kazanluk tomb paintings, the Thracian helmet is commonest but two warriors wear strange yellow circular flat-topped hats. These may be from an unknown Thracian
tribe, but it is more likely that they are Macedonian nobles
wearing variants of their distinctive leather cap, the kausia.140
One figure however is bare-headed and long-haired, like another figure at Alexandrovo. Other infantrymen in the Kazanluk
paintings wear bronze Attic helmets, most with a pale blue
crests.141
Body Armour
Body armour is rare in Thracian graves, although it is also rare
in tombs from coastal Macedonia and Chalkidike, which clearly
does not match the real-life situation there.142 It was limited to
Thracian commanders and nobles, such as Seuthes’ heavy
cavalry bodyguard, until the presumed wider introduction of
mail shirts for infantry by the Roman client-kingdom. There
were two traditions, from northern and southern Thrace.
Initially, the armour was made of leather and/or bronze, but
138
Salminen T. (ed), op. cit. p13.
Fol A. (ed), op.cit, No. 34, p79.
140
Saatsoglu-Paliadeli C., ‘Aspects of Ancient Macedonian Costume’,
JHS 1993, p 136; Head, AOTMAPW, p135, says the kausia –like
caps are painted in the ochre used for bronze, so they could be some
type of helmet, but this seems unlikely.
141
Head D., ‘The Rhomphaia Lives!’, Slingshot 77, May 1978, p 10.
142
Archibald Z., op. cit, p 204.
139
548
iron armour started to appear in the fourth century.
Descriptions of Homeric Thracians, and archaeological
evidence show that Greek armour was in use in Thrace long
before the classical period. Rhesus had “marvellous golden
armour, of the rarest workmanship.”143 His sleeping bodyguard
laid their splendid armour on the ground beside them in an
orderly three rows. The “bell” corselet was used in Thrace until
the fifth century, when it was obsolete in Greece. The most
interesting example is a fifth century bronze bell cuirass from
Rouets. It has an abdominal plate or mitre still attached by
means of silvered nails to the bottom of the breastplate. This
attachment is unique in Thrace; indeed it has rarely been found
outside Crete. It is unlikely to have been used except for
dismounted action as the mitre would have made riding
extremely uncomfortable.144
The primitive “bell” type made few allowances for
comfort and ease of movement. “The armholes were rather
sharp, and there was a pronounced waist band with rolled edges
projecting outwards at the lower end.”145 They were decorated
simply, with the chest muscles ending in three-petalled lotuses,
fish’s tails, or engraved marine monsters, and with other
anatomical details enhanced by seven- and nine-petalled
palmettoes. The marine monsters (ketoi) had a long snout,
snapping jaws, and spiky mane –rather like a chinese dragon.
Unlike Greek examples, which were worn with pteryges
attached to an undergarment, the Thracian cuirasses have a row
of holes along the edges to take a lining, which indicates they
were worn without pteryges.146
Other, non-metallic armour was in use at the same time.
It is possible that groups of gilded silver appliqués found in
fifth century Thracian tombs were originally attached to a leather
parade corselet, similar to the later iron corselets from Vergina
and Prodromion. These were decorated with sheet gold
ornaments (gorgons and lions’ head masks). Something similar
belonging to a composite outfit may have been found at
Panagyurishte. There, the armour had rusted away, leaving gold
strips and studs, as well as six rectangular silver appliques with
the head of Apollo, and two low-relief silver discs showing
Heracles and the Nemean lion.147 Another leather jerkin found
near Lovets had a belt to which were attached thongs for a
scabbard. This was fixed with a bronze ring decorated with a
reclining doe.148 A late 2nd century coin of Mostis, a Thracian
king, shows a smooth corselet with short sleeves, but no other
detail is discernable.149 The mounted warriors on the 5th – 6th
century Lovech silver gilt belt wear leather armour with
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
150
pteryges. Other warriors wore broad scale iron belts, two of
which have been found in Thrace. These belts are like Uratian
bronze belts of around 600, used later by the Skythians and in
various parts of the Achaemenid Empire, so it may be that
Thracian warriors wore something similar. They were originally
fixed to some organic substance, either leather or linen. It is
not clear whether such a belt would have been worn below the
cuirass, or as an alternative to it.151 At the Battle of Issus (333)
one translation of Curtius III.9.9 says of the Thracians ‘’these
too were in light armour”.152 This has been used to suggest they
wore non-metallic corselets, but the Penguin translation says
“who were also light armed”, which seems more likely.
Xenophon records Seuthes’ Odrysian cavalry “wearing
their breastplates” in 400. 153 This probably represents an
armoured bodyguard rather than suggesting that all Thracian
cavalry were armoured.154 They most likely wore the late
improved version of the “bell” type bronze plate cuirass. This
was used in Thrace until the middle of the 4th century. The waist
band disappeared, replaced by a narrow out-turned flange, and
more carefully modelled anatomical relief lines. Instead of an
upstanding collar to protect the throat, the neck was cut low,
leaving the upper chest exposed. This was covered by a crescent
shaped pectoral of silver-plated gilded iron, decorated with
bands of relief vegetal ornamentation.155 It had a forward collar,
and was held on by a narrow hinged strip fastened round the
back of the neck with some form of catchplate.156
Such iron-backed collars were worn both in Thrace and
Macedon, but seem to have had a longer tradition in Thrace.
They were designed to be symbols of rank. There may have
been two types of collar, one for parade, and one for battle, as
a gorget of sheet gold was found with a plain iron collar in a
Macedonian tomb at Vergina. Also, two other collars (from
the 4th century Mal tepe tumulus and Vurbitsa), were found
without cuirasses. At Gaugamela Alexander wore an iron gorget,
quite probably of the same type as these pectorals.157 A c. 350
advanced form of iron pectoral with sheet metal inlay from
Katerini was worn over a composite cuirass decorated with
gilded silver appliqés. This contrasts to a more workmanlike
Macedonian gorget of bronze scales on leather that is dated
from around the same time.158 It is not known what armour was
worn when the “bell” style went out of fashion, but a composite
iron type with iron collar seems likely, to be replaced later
amongst officers by the muscled cuirass.159
Greaves
143
Homer, Iliad, X.
Archibald Z., ibid, p 198; Head D., op. cit, p19; National
History Museum, Sofia guide, 1986, No. 68; Venedikov I., op. cit.
pp 50-51.
145
Archibald Z., op. cit. p 197.
146
Ibid., pp 197-198.
147
Z. Archibald (pp 199, 256) does not show these, but mid 5th century silver-gilt appliques from another suit of armour were found in
Golyamata Mound, Douvanli (north of Plovdiv) – 5 lions’ heads, a
gorgon’s head, and two showing winged Nike on a chariot. OgnenovaMarinova L. “L’Armure des Thraces”, Archaeolgia Bulgarica 3/2000,
p16 has a reconstruction; while the best pictures of the appliques are
in Venedikov I. & T. Gerassimov Thrakische Kunst, Leipzig, 1976,
figs 226-228.
148
Archibald Z., ibid, p199, pp 256-257.
149
Youroukova Y., op. cit. pp 34-38.
144
Only a few early Thracian cavalry (possibly only the officers)
150
Archibald Z., op. cit.; Marazov I., op. cit. p175; Venedikov I. &
Gerassimov T., op. cit. Figs 248 & 250; see fig. 9.
151
Archibald Z., op. cit.
152
Grant Ch., ‘The Thracians’, Military Modelling, December 1976.
153
Xenophon Anabasis 7.3.40.
154
Head D., TTT, p 18.
155
See www.the-thracians.com/armour.htm (click on Body Armour).
156
Head D., AOTMAPW, p 128; D Head, TTT, p18; Archibald, op.
cit. p 198.
157
Plutarch, Alexander, 32 (Penguin translation) says it was a steel
gorget set with precious stones.
158
Archibald Z., op. cit, pp 255- 257; Head D., AOTMAPW, p 128.
159
Ibid.
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
wore greaves. There is no evidence that any Thracian infantry
wore greaves until the fourth century. One pair was found near
Kyustendil with fourth century infantry gear (including an oval
shield), and probably belonged to a Thracian mercenary, or a
Macedonian.160 Greaves later became more popular - At Pydna
(168 ) “First marched the Thracians, who … inspired… the
most terror; they were of great stature, with white [or bright]
and glittering shields [thureoi] and black tunics under them,
their legs armed with greaves.”161
There were two types of greave found in Thrace- the native and Greek types. Two elaborately decorated silver gilt
Thracian ceremonial greaves have been found, one at Vratsa in
Triballian territory, and one at Agighiol, on Getic land.162 They
show the face of the Thracian mother goddess at the knee. An
armoured Thracian horseman wearing the same greaves is on
one of the Letnitsa plaques. As these greaves gleam with white
and glittering metal, “white and glittering shields (thureoi) and
greaves” could possibly mean that both the shields and greaves
worn at Pydna were faced with polished white metal - silver or
tin laid over the bronze.163 A pair of 5th century greaves found
at Starosel in 2000 (possibly in Sitalkes’ tomb) were decorated
with double axe-heads, the symbol of royalty.164
Greaves of Greek type were rarer than other pieces of imported
armour. Only four pairs have been found in Thrace. Two pairs
of these greaves (from different locations) had been repaired.
One pair had been lengthened in the process, and the left one
had originally been made for the right leg. This pair had also
been fitted with iron chains at the back.165 Most were held in
place by their own elasticity , except for some Hellenistic
examples, which were strapped.166 A 4th century pair from
Pletena has traces of the tying straps below the knee and above
the ankle.167
Weapons
Spears
Thracian cavalry would be mainly armed with sword, (usually
the kopis) and 2 cornel wood javelins, or the composite bow
(kept in a leather gorytos) if they were Getai.168 They are always illustrated with only one or two javelins, but it is clear
from battle accounts that the infantry carried more, the number
160
549
TACTICS
This is the pair I photographed in Kyustendil museum; it is not
mentioned elsewhere - the description comes from Evgeni Paunov,
and another description of the associated helmet in the Helsinki
exhibition catalogue.
161
Plutarch Aemilius Paulus 18.
162
Fol A., T&TT, pp 41, 87, & 96; www.the-thracians.com/
greaves_main.htm; Archibald Z., op. cit. p255; items 151 and 152
from I Daci; D Head, TTT, pp18-19.
163
These suggestions and alternative translations were supplied by
Duncan Head during discussion about this book.
164
Webber Ch., ‘The Alexandrovo Tomb and Other Recent
Discoveries’, Slingshot 216, July 2001, p 50; www.thethracians.com/alexandrovo_tomb.htm; http://www.geocities.com/
vakarr.
165
Fol A. , AT Helsinki, Nos. 38-39, pp79-80; Archibald Z., op. cit,
p 255.
166
Snodgrass A.M. , Arms and Armour of the Greeks, John
Hopkins, Baltimore, 1999, p 53.
167
Archibald Z., op. cit, p 255.
168
Head D., AOTMAPW, pp 127- 129; Head D., TTT, pp 17-20;
Grant Ch., loc. cit; Barker Ph., op. cit, fig. 5.
depending on their length (between 1.1m and 2m).169 Odrysian
Cavalry javelins were 1.5 to 1.8 metres in length, and tipped
with iron or bronze heads. They could be thrown immediately
before contact or used as a thrusting weapon. Xenophon appears to have favoured this arrangement -two short javelins,
one to be thrown, and the other kept for hand-to-hand combat.170
There are references in Greek texts to “Thracian spears”,171
but these are unfortunately not further described. Most warrior
burials contained multiple spearheads with blades of varying
lengths. The principal forms were derived from older Iron Age
types, though the total length is often equal to or smaller than
the blades of their early predecessors. Sixth-century and later
examples tend to be much shorter and narrower. Javelin heads
tended to be smaller, thinner, and longer than other spear heads,
though often there is no difference. Some javelin heads were
obviously specifically designed for throwing rather than used
hand to hand.172
Three principal shapes were in use between the fifth and
third centuries. The straight -sided type had a pronounced
midrib, the blade base jutting sharply away from the socket.
This was the commonest form used by the Getai. With the
leaf-shaped type, the blade base curved smoothly into the socket.
The third type was the barbed Skythian type of javelin head.
The number and range of types increased in the later fourth
and during the third century.173
Xenophon says that the javelin should be hurled from
horseback as far away as possible, in order to give enough time
for the horse to turn around and for the transfer of the second
javelin to the right hand. “The horseman should throw forward
his left side, while drawing back his right; then rising bodily
from the thighs, he should let fly the missile with the point
slightly upwards. The dart so discharged will carry with the
greatest force and to the farthest distance; we may add, too,
with the truest aim, if at the moment of discharge the lance is
steadily eyeing the mark at the instant of discharge” 174
In the Alexandrovo tomb, the riders are armed with a single
knobbed spear (with a butt spike) and a straight sword, hanging from the left hip. All the spears are wielded over arm. The
presence of the butt spike is really interesting as it indicates
that this spear was not meant to be thrown, but used in hand-tohand combat, like the Macedonian xyston or the Greek kamax.175
Two such weapons, about 2m long, one possibly with a butt
spike, are also held by a helmeted groom painted on the dome
of the Kazanluk tomb. Alexander at the battle of the Granicus
is described as using the xyston, which had a narrow blade like
a spear and had a butt spike which could be used in a pinch if
the spear was shattered in combat.176 He is described as using
the xyston overhand much like the Hoplite fighting style to thrust
at the necks and faces of his foes. The (probably Macedonian)
169
Warry, loc. cit.
Xenophon, On Horsemanship, XII.
171
eg Euripides Hecuba 1155.
172
Archibald Z., op. cit., p 202.
173
Ibid., pp 202-203, 257.
174
Xenophon, On Horsemanship, XII
175
Spence I.G., The Cavalry of Classical Greece, Oxford, 1995,
p53. It is possible that this was a special spear used for the boar
hunt- the closeness implied by its use being a suitably heroic
climax to the hunt.
176
Arrian 1.15.
170
550
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
cavalry on the left-hand side of the eastern frieze of the Kazanluk
tomb dromos are all armed with this weapon, wielded underarm. The other cavalry figures in the dromos paintings all brandish their spears overarm except for the figure supposed to be
Seuthes III, who wields his spear underarm. Unfortunately the
presence of butt spikes can’t be determined due to position of
the figures and the poor state of the painting.
The knobbed spear shafts are new - they look almost like
cane. A similar knobbly-shafted javelin can be seen on the
Alexander Mosaic, fallen to theground.177 That is usually identified as Persian, but the prevalence of these weapons on the
Alexandrovo paintings means the mosaic javelin could have
belonged to one of Alexander’s Balkan troops. However, the
mosaic javelin looks quite different – it is thorny, not knobbly,
so this is highly speculative. One of the gold amphora-rhtyons
from the 4th century Panagyurishte treasure shows similar
knobbly philosopher’s staffs, but otherwise these types of spear
shafts are unknown. Probably they are still made from cornel
wood, known for its exceptionally strength and durability
(though apparently it was best used after nine years’ seasoning). The cornel tree is short but long enough to be used for
spear shafts.178 Perhaps only cornel wood trees from the
Alexandrovo area produce wood with this knobbly appearance,
or else the spearshafts shown were produced in a hurry, perhaps during the hunt. Hawthorn is another possibility.
Swords & Knives
The Thracians were famous for their forward curved swords,
but they also used a long sword and the Skythian akinakes.179
Swords were most often only secondary weapons and to begin
with, only nobles could afford them; the rest of the troops made
do with curved daggers. Later on, though, swords became more
common. From an early date there was a typically Thracian
sword known for being longer than other swords.180 The Iliad
says: “Helenus then struck Deipyrus with a great Thracian
sword…”181 The Iliad also mentions a “silver-studded sworda goodly Thracian sword”182 and Ovid says that Polydorus is
”killed, disfigured with deep wounds of Thracian swords.”183
An unpublished fourth century Thracian tomb excavated
near Shipka in Bulgaria in 1993 contains paintings of two long
straight swords that would be good candidates.184 These longer
swords may have inspired Iphicrates to introduce longer swords
for his Greek troops. Despite the apparent similarity to Celtic
swords, and the large numbers of long Celtic swords in Bulgarian museums, it is unlikely that the Celtic swords influenced
the Thracians.185 Length or the curved blade may be what dis177
This was brought to my notice by Duncan Head, author of
AOTMAPW.
178
Florov I. & N. Florov, the authors of The 3000 year old hat, in
an email received 26 November 2001.
179
See www.the-thracians.com/swords.htm
180
C S Grant ‘The Peltast’ Slingshot 51 pp 9-17 & 20-21.
181
Homer, Iliad, XIII.
182
Homer Iliad 23.805.
183
Ovid Metamorphoses 13.778.
184
This information was supplied by Evgeni Paunov during a visit
to the area. He said that unfortunately a large number of tombs that
were excavated decades ago still have not been published.
185
There are also many fine, long, bronze rapiers and other bronze
age swords.
tinguished Thracian swords from other early (Greek) swords.
The straight Greek xiphos was commoner in Thrace during the
fourth century and was widespread in soldiers’ graves of the
third. In the Hellenistic period, a straight Macedonian style
was also widespread – this had a bone or ivory handle, and the
hilt and pommel were cast in one piece with the blade.186 Swords
would probably be worn from a baldric.187
There are a few instances of Thracians using swords as
their primary weapon, instead of just as a sidearm. The Dii hill
tribesmen are always referred to by Thucydides as “swordsmen” or “armed with swords” (machairophoroi).188 The only
other time that Thracian swordsmen are mentioned is when
Croesus hired “many Thracian swordsmen”189 for the Lydian
army. Thracian infantry probably continued to use a variety of
native sword styles until the Roman conquest.
Thracian cavalry, however, are always shown on metalwork, tomb paintings, and reliefs with long, straight swords
(probably the xiphos) from around the 3rd century onwards. For
instance, in the Alexandrovo tomb, the rider in the white tunic
has a long, straight sword in a scabbard of a ridiculously large
size. This scabbard is very like those found elsewhere with the
xiphos. The bulbous shape of the xiphos meant it worked reasonably well both as a slashing and stabbing sword, in contrast
to the curved sword, which could only be used for slashing.
Nevertheless, the change to the straight sword is curious.
Xenophon recommends the kopis for cavalry use, and modern
experiments have shown that the chief advantage a cavalryman
has over an infantryman is in the downward stroke of his sword,
which has greater force with a curved blade.190
For fighting other cavalry it seems that swords were only
used as a last resort. Livy relates that the Macedonians were
surprised and disheartened when they saw the unusually severe wounds caused by the Roman “Spanish” swords to
Macedonian cavalrymen – “They had seen wounds caused by
spears, arrows, and rarely, by lances, since they were accustomed to fighting with Greeks and Illryrians”. 191 It is quite
likely that the Thracians fought in the same style as the Greeks
and Illryrians.
The Machaira, or Kopis, and Other Thracian Curved
Swords
The kopis, or machaira, was a heavy slashing sword with the
cutting edge on the inside of a long, slightly curved, blade. It
came into general use in Greece early in the fifth century.192 A
well-preserved example equipped with an ivory-decorated hilt
was found near Duvanli. 193 However, this sword was rare in
classical Thrace. Only two other pre-Hellenistic examples have
been found there. During that time this weapon was reserved
for use by the noble heavy cavalry, and had considerable pres186
Archibald Z., op. cit, p 257-258.
Head D., AOTMAPW, p 126; Snodgrass A.M., op. cit p85.
188
Thucydides 2.98, 2.100, 7.27.
189
Xenophon, Cyropaedia 6.2.10
190
Xenophon, On Horsemanship XII.
191
XXXI.35, 200 BC.
192
Sekunda N., ‘Greek Swords and Swordsmanship’, Osprey
Military Journal Vol 3, Issue 1 2001 pp 34-42; Snodgrass A.M.
pp84-85; Connolly P., op. cit. p63; Archibald Z., op. cit. p203.
193
82 cm long, from the Golyana tumulus at Douvanli. Archibald
Z., loc. cit; Hodinott R.F., op. cit, p63, figure 4.
187
ODRYSIAN CAVALRY ARMS, EQUIPMENT,
AND
tige value. One 3rd century kopis found in Thrace is 46cm long
and 5.5cm wide. It is decorated with a longitudinal groove in
the centre and a band of engraved circles with central dots arranged between the groove and the outer edge.194
Mercenary Thracian cavalry of the late Hellenistic period also used the sica, a large curved sword. This seems to be
the Roman name for any curved sword or knife, as it was also
used for the sword of the Thracian style of gladiator, and for
Celtic knives, so the cavalry sica was probably like the kopis
or the traditional Thracian curved swords. In 130 a Thracian
cavalryman fighting for a Pergamene pretender cut off the head
of the Roman consul Crassus with a single blow from his sica.
In 163 at the battle of Marissa, a Thracian cavalryman (probably using a sica) chopped an arm off a Jewish rebel, also with
a single blow.195
Several styles of curved blades have been found all over
Thrace. Similarly, the Kazanluk paintings show a mixture of
strange long curved swords being used by infantry- perhaps
these are what Thucydides is calling “machaira”, that being
the nearest Greek equivalent. These swords are curved both
ways, and look unlike any other Greek or Roman sword (some
may in fact be rhomphaias).
The light cavalry were probably armed only with curved
knives as their secondary weapon, at least until the end of the
classical era. Knives are not often depicted in art, but the most
common found in Thrace are the curved, tanged dagger and
the T-shaped knife. The single-edged curved knife was a popular weapon that even penetrated into the Pontic regions in the
second half of the fourth century.196
Tactics & Formations
Not much is known about Thracian cavalry tactics. Xenophon
describes how the cavalry was moved to the rear for a night
march, and also how the cavalry charged to the rescue when he
was attacked, trumpet sounding. Iphicrates describes Odrysian
cavalry being kept back by torches being put into the horses’
faces. .197 Iphicrates switched sides, and was soon carrying off
a great deal of loot from Odrysian territory, pursued by a large
cavalry force. Having few horsemen himself, he gave them
burning torches and told them to charge the Thracians. The
Odrysian horses could not stand the flames, and fled.198
Thracian cavalry in Macedonian service were usually
deployed on the left flank, but when fighting for their own king
it can safely be assumed that the king and his bodyguard fought
on the right flank like Alexander, with the lighter cavalry
forming up on both flanks of the army where terrain permitted.
Thracian cavalry were skilled in both skirmish and close
combat fighting. When skirmishing with the enemy, small independent squadrons would ride along the front or flanks of
the enemy discharging volleys of javelins, then wheel away to
194
Fol A., AT Helsinki, Item 45, p81.
Sekunda N., op.cit., p18. He suggests that the sica may
have been similar to the Rhomphaia when used in Thracian
hands, but the rhomphaia would have been too unwieldy for
cavalry use, so a curved sword is more likely.
196
Archibald Z., loc. cit.
197
Demosthenes, Against Aristocrates 8 .
198
Polyaenus Stratagems 3.9.60
195
551
TACTICS
return to their battle line and replenish their ammunition. When
engaging both infantry or cavalry in hand to hand combat, they
formed closely packed formations, several ranks deep and
charged the enemy. When fighting against other cavalry the
Thracians would advance and retreat alternately, discharging
their weapons and then retiring199. Alternatively, the heavy
cavalry may have thrown one javelin, then attacked with the
kamax..
The Thracians were exceptionally mobile and able to rely
on heavy javelin and some archery fire.200 At the battle of the
Hydaspes, Curtius says “Alexander sent the Agrianes and
Thracian light-armed against the elephants, for they were better at skirmishing than fighting at close quarters. These released
a thick barrage of missiles on both elephants and drivers…”201
Hence their preferred tactic was to skirmish; their wooded and
hilly terrain was well suited to this ploy.202 These tactics were
often successful, mainly when their opponents lacked light
troops, they outnumbered their opponents, or caught them in
suitable terrain. They liked ambushes like that on the Roman
column after Magnesia, or night attacks under cover of darkness, like that on Mardonius’ Persians.
The encounter between Xenophon’s 10,000 and a combined Bithynian-Persian army in 401203 is another good example
of the strengths and weaknesses of Thracian armies. In this
battle, the Greek peltasts were placed on the flanks of the phalanx, but charged ahead of the main body. They were met by
Persian cavalry and the Bithynians (peltasts and light cavalry),
and driven back. However, when the hoplites came up, sang
the paean, and raised a shout as they brought their spears down
for the attack, the Bithynians and Persians ran away.
Little is known about Thracian formations and
deployment. The cavalry formed into a wedge, which made a
charge more effective. The Thracians learnt this formation from
the Skythians, and the Macedonians learnt it from the
Thracians.204 In one battle, the Triballi drew up their forces in
four ranks. In the first rank were placed the weaker men, and
behind them, the stronger men. The cavalry formed the third
rank but the rear rank was of women, who, if the men wavered,
rallied them with cries and taunts!205
Night attacks were a favourite Thracian tactic. The Brygi
night attack on the Persians206 was so successful that (in
combination with the loss of the Persian fleet) it induced the
Persians to retreat. It seems to have been a Thracian custom to
march to battle drunk, as well.
“Clearchus... encamped near the mountains of Thrace.
When the Thracians gathered, he knew that, drunk and rushing
199
Livy XXXI.36; although this describes later Macedonian cavalry
it is likely that Thracian cavalry used the same methods.
200
Cheshire I., op. cit. p15.
201
Curtius VIII.14, 24-30.
202
Cheshire I., ibid; Head D., AOTMAPW, p 51; regarding the terrain, Livy XL,22 (181 BC) says that Philip V tried to climb Mount
Heamus but “as they reached the high levels they were increasingly
faced with wooded and often impassable ground. Eventually they came
upon a track so shaded that it was scarcely possible to see the sky for
the density of the trees and the interlacing branches.”
203
Xenophon Anabasis VI.5.
204
Arrian, Taktica 16, 6-9.
205
Nicolaus of Damascus in his Collection of Strange Customs [Nic.
Damas. Mor. Mirab. frag. 116J].
206
Herodotus VI. 46.
552
CHRISTOPHER WEBBER
from the mountains, they would attack at night.”207
Polyaenus mentions many stratagems employed by
generals such as Iphicrates and Clearchus to defeat Thracian
night attacks.208 One of these included the Thracian practice of
banging your weapons together even when engaged in a night
attack.209 Xenophon also says that Seuthes regarded night
marches as commonplace. However, he also relates that even a
small force of Thracians that marched at night would often
become disorganised - the cavalry would get separated from
the infantry.210 It may be that their success led to the adoption
of this tactic by the Greeks, and the disastrous (but almost
successful) night attack on Syracuse by Demosthenes.211
The Roman client-king of Thrace, King Rhoemetalces,
accustomed the Thracians to the use of Roman weapons, military standards, and discipline.212 Assuming that his infantry were
trained as Roman-style auxiliaries rather than legionaries, they
may have practiced a more disciplined version of the same basic
tactics. Only a proportion would have received such training –
the rest would have remained untamed savages. An account of
Thracian auxiliaries destroying a Gallic force on a mountain
top shows that they retained their effectiveness while in Roman service.213
ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE NOTES
AOTMAPW - Duncan Head, Armies of the Macedonian and Punic
Wars, 2nd Edition, W R G, Devizes, 1982
AG – Ivan Marazov (Ed), Ancient Gold. The Wealth of the Thracians.
Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria, Harry N Abrams, New
York, 1998
AG Helsinki - Alexander Fol, (ed) Ancient Thrace, F G Lonnberg,
Helsinki, 2000- catalogue of the 2000 Helsinki exhibition (with
descriptions of the items supplied separately by Timo Saleminen
of the Amos Anderson museum)
AT - Alexander Fol (ed), Ancient Thrace Elektra Publications
(International Foundation Europa Antiqua), 2000
T& TT - Alexander Fol & Ivan Marazov, Thrace and the Thracians,
St Martin’s Press, New York, 1977
TAG - NV Sekunda, The Ancient Greeks, Osprey Elite Series, London,
1996
TT -Charles Grant, The Thracians, in Military Modelling, November
& December 1976
TTT - D. Head, Thracian Troop Types, Slingshot, September 1978
TP - Charles Grant The Peltast Slingshot 51 pp 9-17 & 20-21.
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