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Short description

The Pisidian Javelinmen are skilled light infantry, who will harass the enemy flanks with the strength of the mountain lion!

Description

The Pisidian Javelinmen are proud and ferocious warriors from the interior of Western Anatolia. Neither Hittites nor Greeks could dominate them in the past, even if they are willing to sell their skills at arms in exchange for a satisfactory amount of gold and plunder. The Pisidians fight with arms suited to their native, mountainous environment: a bundle of sharp javelins, combined with a Celtic long sword or dagger for close combat, as well as a light and flexible crescent-shaped ‘pelte’ shield. They are protected by bronze helmets that are either plumed, or have spectacular brazen ox-ears and -horns attached to them. To complete their splendid attire, the Pisidian Javelinmen wear purple or red-striped bands on their legs. These men are a valuable addition to any army, serving as skilled light infantry that will harass the enemy flanks with the strength of the mountain lion!

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Pisidia was a wild, mountainous region in South-Western Anatolia, which remained difficult to subdue and rule by outside powers. Even though there are indications that the Pisidians were closely related to the Pamphylian people on the coast, thanks to the early presence of colonies in their midst, the Pamphylians attained a level of civilization that remained utterly foreign to the proud Pisidians living in the interior (Britannica (1911), ‘Pamphylia’). While Pisidia was integrated into the empire of Seleukos I Nikator, the Seleucids were never completely in control over the region. For a long time, Seleucid rule in Anatolia remained contested by both the Attalids of Pergamon and the Celtic Galatians. All these factors contributed to the Pisidian cities being among the last in Western Anatolia to fully embrace Hellenistic culture and its related coinage.

Ancient sources report how over time, Pisidians served many of the powers who warred to control Anatolia, not hesitating to turn against former allies if they could expect sufficient rewards. Even though they often fought for the Attalids, there is evidence that the Pisidians at least once turned against the Pergamene, siding with the city of Selge (excavation report Sagalassos V (2000), p. 596). Flavius Josephus (Ios. Ant. Iud. XIII, 374) also mentions Pisidian troops in the army of John Hyrkanos I of Judaea at the end of the 2nd century BC.

Pisidian mercenaries also fought in various successor armies. On grave stelae from Berytos and on an inscription from Aspendos, dated to the period of Ptolemaic control, they appear as Ptolemaic mercenaries (Excavation Report Sagalassos I (1993), p. 19/20). Further evidence of Pisidians in Ptolemaic service is provided by an inscription (SEG 17.639) from Aspendos in Pamphylia (301-298 BC), which mentions that when a group of Ptolemaic mercenaries sent to defend the city were enfranchised, they included Pisidians. Pisidian troops are, however, also attested in Seleucid armies (Shatzman, The Armies of the Hasmonaeans and Herod (1991), p. 32), for instance at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, where they are described as ‘targeteers’ (Liv. 37.40.13-14).

The way in which the Pisidian Javelinmen in RIS have been portrayed is based off a combination of ancient pictorial and descriptive evidence. Most important are a description by Herodotus (Hdt. VII, 76) and the stelea of Saettas (Post, Bithynian Army (2022), p. 14; Stele of the Pisidian Saettas, son of Trokondas, from Sidon) and Dioskourides (Pasinli, Istanbul Archaeological Museums (1992), p. 7, fig. 6).

Whereas the stele of Saettas shows a Pisidian armed with a pelte shield and dagger on a baldric, other evidence suggests that Pisidians also used long swords as weapon for close combat. Multi-Lobate swords (a straight-edged blade, with its hilt terminating in two or three lobes) in a rather long Celtic style are depicted on reliefs from the countryside around Sagalassos from the 2nd century BC (Kose, Nekropolen, 2005 passim).

Herodotos describes the fancy headgear that was apparently typical for people from this region: “Brazen helmets protected their heads; and above these they wore the ears and horns of an ox fashioned in brass. They had also crests on their helmets […]”. Even more elaborate plumed helmets are depicted on the Stele of Dioskourides. Both types have been represented in this unit. Herodotos also relates how the Pisidians’ legs “were bound round with purple bands”. The steles of Saettas and Dioskourides also show boots with white felt socks and reddish-brown straps, which is why the javelinmen display a combination of purple and red-striped leg coverings.