Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
The centrality of the phalanx to Philip’s and Alexander’s military successes prompts questions about how the Macedonian infantry incorporated non-Macedonians into its forces as it helped conquer new lands, and the degree to which these forces were willing allies, compelled subjects, or a combination of the two. The answers vary according to ethnicity, as foreign forces joined Philip’s and Alexander’s armies at different times and for different reasons. This chapter catalogues our evidence for Greek, Balkan, and Asian infantrymen in Philip’s and/or Alexander’s armies, and briefly considers the question of to the degree to which we can see them as “loyal allies” in a strongly positive sense. It is only in the cases of two bodies of soldiers—the Agrianian akontists (javelin-wielding peltasts) and the Persian Epigoni, 30,000 youths outfitted as Macedonian soldiers—that this seems to apply. They enter the army under highly different circumstances and for very different reasons, and they appear very differently in the sources: one is a faceless but steadfast presence at war; the other, a sign of Alexander’s increasingly Persian proclivities. It is possible, however, that the Agrianes were also, like the Epigoni, recipients of Alexander’s favoritism, specifically over the Macedonian soldiery.
Anson, E. (2021) “The Father of the Army: Alexander and the Epigoni,” in D’Agostini et al. (2021) 227–42.
Archibald, Z. (1998) The Odrysian Kingdom of Thrace: Orpheus Unmasked. Oxford.
Baynham, E. (2022) “Bosworth on Alexander and the Iranians Revisited: Alexander’s Marriages to Persian Brides at Susa: A Study of Arrian, Anabasis 7.4.4–8,” in Pownall et al. (2022) 149–68.
Best, J. G. P. (1969) Thracian Peltasts and Their Influence on Greek Warfare. Groningen.
Bosworth, A. B. (1980a) A Historical Commentary on Arrian’s History of Alexander, Vol. 1. Oxford.
Bosworth, A. B. (1980b) “Alexander and the Iranians.” JHS 100: 1–21.
Brunt, P. A. (1976) History of Alexander and Indica I. Cambridge, MA.
Cabanes, P. (1988) Les illyriens, de Bardylis à Genthios : IVe–IIe siècles avant J.C. Paris.
Campbell, B. and Tritle, L. (eds) (2013) The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford.
D’Agostini, M., Anson, E., and Pownall, F. (eds) (2020) Affective Relations and Personal Bonds in Hellenistic Antiquity: Studies in Honor of Elizabeth D. Carney. Oxford.
Delev, P. (2015) “Thrace from the Assassination of Kotys I to Koroupedion (360–281 BCE),” in Valeva et al. (2015) 48–58.
Engels, D. (1978) Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army. Berkeley.
Graninger, D. (2010) “Macedonia and Thessaly,” in Roisman and Worthingon (2010) 306–25.
Heckel, W. (2006) Who’s Who in the Age of Alexander. Malden, MA.
Heckel, W. (2013) “The Three Thousand: Alexander’s Infantry Guard,” in Campbell and Tritle (2013) 162–78.
Konecny, A. (2001) “Κατέκοψεν τὴν μόραν Ἰφικράτης: Das Gefecht bei Lechaion im Frühsommer 390 v. Chr.” Chiron 31: 79–127.
Markle, M. (1978) “Use of the Sarissa by Philip and Alexander of Macedon.” AJA 82.4: 483–497.
Pownall, F., Asirvatham, S., and Müller, S. (eds) (2022) The Courts of Philip II and Alexander the Great: Monarchy and Power in Ancient Macedonia. Berlin.
Roisman, J. and Worthingon, I. (eds) (2010) A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Malden, MA.
Sears, M. (2015) “Athens,” in Valeva et al. (2015) 312–14.
Stoyanov, T. (2015) “Warfare,” in Valeva et al. (2015) 426–42.
Swain, S. (1990) “Hellenic Culture and the Roman Heroes of Plutarch.” JHS 110: 126–145.
Valeva, J., Nankov, E., and Graninger, D. (eds) (2015) A Companion to Ancient Thrace. Hoboken, NJ.
Webber, C. (2011) The Gods of Battle: The Thracians at War 1500 BC–150 AD. Barnsley, UK.
Wilkes, J. (1992) The Illyrians. Cambridge, MA.
Worthington, I. (2008) Philip II of Macedonia. New Haven, CT.
Wrightson, G. (2019) Combined Arms Warfare in Ancient Greece: From Homer to Alexander the Great and His Successors. London.
Xydopoulos, I. (2020) “Triballians,” in LAM: 512–513.
Yardley, J. C. (trans) (1994) Justin: Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus. With introduction and explanatory notes by R. Develin. Atlanta, GA.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 136 | 136 | 12 |
Full Text Views | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 7 | 7 | 0 |
Terms and Conditions | Privacy Statement | Cookie Settings | Accessibility | Legal Notice | Sitemap | Copyright © 2016-2025