Mercenary Phalangites
Spearmen Infantry(0.6.7)Side / Back
Short description
They might not wear the most valuable panoply, but these men are experienced soldiers.
Description
Even though the training to fight in a Macedonian phalanx took a long time, we often find mercenary phalangites in Hellenistic armies. At the Battle of Raphia in 217 BC, for instance, the Ptolemies fielded 8000 Hoplite and Phalangite mercenaries (Polyb. V, 65, 4), while the Seleucids had 5000 men at their disposal (Polyb. V, 79, 9). Even the Achaian League, reputedly built on civic values and the honour of the citizen soldiers and being traditional Hoplite country, passed a decree under Aratos of Sikyon at the same time that "they were to keep up a mercenary force of eight thousand foot and five hundred horse" (Polyb. V, 91, 6). Increasing numbers of these mercenaries will have been phalangites, and they encompassed both men who might have fought as (mercenary) Hoplites in the past, and those who served in the regiments of defeated kings and warriors, such as Lysimachos, Pyrrhos or Ptolemaios Keraunos. Suddenly without a job, they offered their services to whoever would pay them best. Some of them might even have been part of foreign armies and were "rented" for a certain campaign or war, a practice known for some Achaians and Aitolians.
Mercenaries are experienced warriors, and while they may not receive the best equipment available, they can certainly hold their own in battle. Having seen the slaughter before, they will not easily run away, and are thus a valuable addition to anyone's army.