WARFARE OF ANTIQUITY. 5 



formed a peculiar corps, usually the body-guard of the general, composed 

 of footmen and cavalry. 



The great army, however, which Carthage brought into the field, con- 

 sisted of mercenaries ; and nearly half of Africa and Europe sent their 

 hirelings to them. Half naked Gauls stood side by side with white-clad 

 Iberians ; savage Ligurians beside well equipped Nasamones and Lotophagi. 

 Carthaginians and Phoenician Africans formed the centre ; countless 

 swarms of Numidian horsemen, from all the races of the desert, the wings 

 of this vast host. Balearic slingers were the advanced guard, and elephants 

 with their Ethiopian drivers upon their towers {pi. 5, fig. 3) made, as it 

 were, a chain of movable fortresses along its front. This Carthaginian 

 order of battle with elephants is shown m pi. 13, fig. 6. 



The Military Systems of Media and Persia. If now we turn to Asia, 

 the Medes and Persians will, of all people known to ancient history, most 

 attract our attention. From the Medo-Assyrian kingdom of Arbaces, a 

 Median kingdom proper separated itself, under Deioces, about 700 years 

 before Christ, whose king first established an organized army among the 

 Medians, and then among the subjected Persians, by separating the lance- 

 men, archers, and cavalry into distinct divisions. Yet only under Cyrus 

 did the armament and discipline become effective. 



In every province of the empire, spread over the level country, or 

 collected into garrisons, were troops which differed in their organization. 

 As to the first, their number was exactly fixed for each province. The 

 main strength was cavalry, but there were also archers, slingers, and heavy 

 armed infantry. The province was compelled to maintain the force ; and 

 with respect to administrative government, they were subject to the satrap, 

 but the command was the king's alone, by whom the troops were yearly 

 mustered, and without whose consent no satrap could discharge them. In 

 this manner was the whole land, independently of political divisions, 

 separated into military districts, each with its appropriate muster-place. 

 The division of these troops through the country was into bodies of 1000 

 men each, whose commander was called a chiliarch. Cyrus had in Upper 

 Asia 100,000 men. His general Abrocomas commanded 300,000, and the 

 army upon the Granicus numbered 40,000. Distinguished from these troops 

 were the garrisons of the fortified cities, which had again their own com- 

 manders. Those just named were the royal troops ; but besides these were 

 the household troops of the nobility, whose number often amounted to many 

 thousands. 



Originally the whole Persian army was composed of Persians, but 

 afterwards these withdrew from the service and their place was supplied 

 by hirelings, partly Asiatics, partly Hyrcanians, Parthians, and Sacians ; 

 the flower of the army, however, at that time consisted of Greeks. The 

 national army of Persia was organized by dividing the whole population 

 able to bear arms into squads of ten, each having its chief, then came the 

 commander of a hundred, then the chiliarch commanding 1000, and then 

 the commander of 10,000 men ; thus it was easy to assemble very rapidly 

 the largest force, as it needed only an order to the myriarch, the chief 



ICONOGRAPHIC ENCYCLOPEDIA. VOT.. III. 31 481 



