HERODOTUS, BODY ARMOUR AND ACHAEMENID INFANTRY
Herodotus' assertion in Book 9 of his Histories that Persian infantry were unarmoured at the battle of Plataea (479 B. C.) should not be interpreted as meaning that Achaemenid infantry were never equipped with defensive armour. In fact, a close inspection of the Histories, together with other s...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. - Franz Steiner Verlag, 1950. - 61(2012), 3, Seite 257-269 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2012
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte |
| Schlagworte: | Business Political science Applied sciences History Physical sciences Behavioral sciences |
| Zusammenfassung: | Herodotus' assertion in Book 9 of his Histories that Persian infantry were unarmoured at the battle of Plataea (479 B. C.) should not be interpreted as meaning that Achaemenid infantry were never equipped with defensive armour. In fact, a close inspection of the Histories, together with other sources, and Xenophon and Strabo in particular, shows that some Achaemenid infantry did indeed wear body armour. Herodotus' statements in Book 9 therefore emerge as either broad generalizations, or else present a reflection of the equipment worn by an ill-supplied Persian infantry force fighting far from home towards the end of a long campaign. |
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| ISSN: | 00182311 |