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Short description

Thracian slingers are a good unit when long range missile units are needed, but they should be supported by infantry, cavalry, or professional troops.

Description

Slingers are a class of missile troops found in Hellenistic armies all around the Mediterranean. Their use of the weapon has to be trained on a regular basis to be effective, which is easiest for those living in the mountains, who have to protect their sheep and goat herds from predators. Even though the Thracian slingers were not in high demand in Greek armies, Thracian mountain tribes probably still had a significant number of livestock herders who trained with the sling from childhood. These slingers wear the typical Thracian dress of a colourful, patterned tunic, Thracian boots and Phrygian caps of felt, leather or fur. They are a good addition to armies in need of skirmishers, but should be kept safe from heavy infantry, cavalry, or more professional missile troops.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Living on land with poor soil for farming, on islands, or in mountainous terrain, people resort to herding sheep and goats, which they protect with slings from predators. Growing up training with this specialized weapon makes them effective slingers, sought after by generals and employers in need of professional missile troops. Thus, the mountainous regions in Greece produced the most famed slingers: Akarnania, Achaia, and Rhodes. This might have been similar in Thrace, but due to the rich choice of professional slingers in the Greek world, there might not have been a high demand for Greek commanders to seek them in this region. That could explain their relative absence in ancient armies or the sources describing them.

There are, nonetheless, a few mentions that indicate the sling being used in warfare next to the javelin the Thracians are usually known for. Webber assumes that Thracian slingers might have been involved in helping the democrats win over the oligarchs in the Athenian Civil War of 404 BC (Xen. Hell. II.4.12). One explicit mentions of Thracian slingers are those of the Odrysiai, who harassed Iphikrates on campaign (Webber, The Gods of Battle (2011), “Slingers”; Polyain. Strat. III. 9. 62). Finally, their last mention is by Appian, who identifies the Thracians in Pompey’s army as slingers (App. BC. II. 8. 49). Webber and Head (Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars (1982), 126f) suggest light equipment for Thracian slingers, wearing nothing more than their tunics, their fox-caps or Phrygian hats, Thracian boots, and the sling and stones they have at hand. They might have been locally recruited for emergencies, like the Aitolians did with their own slingers when they were invaded by the Celts (Paus. X, 22, 6). As Thracians were well-known and feared for their skill with the javelin, these slingers would have only rarely seen active engagements in foreign campaigns.