Mercenaries of the Hellenistic World
by G. T. Griffith
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Book Summary Information
Author: G. T. GriffithEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-06
ISBN: 0890050856
Number of pages: 350
Publisher: Ares Pub
Book Reviews of Mercenaries of the Hellenistic World
Book Review: The Mercenaries of the Hellenistic World
Summary: 5 Stars
There is evidence for a significant mercenary presence in ancient Greek armies going back to Mycenaean days, and by the 3rd Century BC, save for a backbone of Macedonian-style phalangites most of the troops in a Hellenistic Army were foreign mercenaries. G. T. Griffith's work, now some 70 years old, remains one of the most in-depth and scholarly studies on the hired soldiers of ancient Greek and Successor State armies available for the average layperson.
The states examined include: Philipian and Alexandrian Macedon and Greece; Alexander's immediate successors; post Alexandrian Macedon; post-Alexandrian Greece; the Ptolemaic Kingdom; the Seleucid Empire; Pergamum and Pontus; and the Hellenistic colonies of western Europe and Africa. The origins, history, and numbers of the mercenary units of all of these kingdoms are examined in detail; the information is drawn from a variety of Classical sources. Griffith closes his book with chapters on the origins, recruitment, pay, and maintenance of the mercenaries.
The mercenary bands in the Hellenistic world came from all across the world as the Greeks knew it and brought many fighting styles and weapons with them. They included Gaulish cavalrymen - who, despite their barbaric appearance and behavior revolutionized cavalry warfare as the Greeks knew it; Thracians, who were known both for their skillful light cavalry and their ferocious light infantry; hoplites, archers, and light cavalry from fellow Hellenistic and Hellenized states (such as the famous Spartan adventurers who fought during the Punic Wars, and the light cavalrymen of Tarentum in Italy); and assorted Illyrians, Africans, Italians, Spaniards, and Easterners who all found their way into the armies of Alexander the Great and his successors over the course of two centuries.
Overall, this is an excellent, irreplaceable source for someone seeking to learn of the significant role played by mercenaries in the Greek and Macedonian armies of the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd Centuries BC, and their organization and national origins.
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