Unit Browser for RTR: Imperium Surrectum

Short description

These men are the elite shock infantry of the Bactrian royal army.

Description

The Epigonoi (lit. “offspring”) Hypaspists are the elite shock infantry of the Bactrian royal army. Chosen from among the most promising descendants of Greek and Macedonian settlers born in Bactria, they are armed with spears and aspis shields. For additional protection they can rely on cuirasses and linothorakes, as well as (plumed) Bactrian or Konos helmets. This unit is best used to protect the vulnerable flanks of the phalanx, but is more than capable of performing a wide variety of other tasks on the battlefield. The Epigonoi are quite able to fight in broken terrain, which features heavily in the mountains of Bactria and the neighbouring lands. Their high motivation, heavy equipment and flexibility make them a threat to just about any foe they are likely to encounter. With these men as the core of his force, a king of Bactria may aspire to step into the footsteps of Alexander the Great and conquer the world. Only this time, starting in the east and moving westwards towards the great ocean.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The Hypaspists seem to have been the swiss-army-knife of Alexander’s army. They were hand-picked by the king and therefore not organised by their local origin like the regular infantry. In pitched battles, they were usually charged with keeping the connection between the right flank of the phalanx and the Hetairoi further down the flank, who were personally led by the king (Arrian exped. Alex. III.11.9, for the battle at Gaugamela). However, this is far from the only task they were asked to perform. They were usually present when Alexander undertook a forced march, leaving the phalanx behind (Arrian exped. Alex. III. 23.3, IV. 3.2) and were used as shock troops to take fortifications both by Alexander and his successor Perdiccas.

The question of the equipment of the Hypaspists is hotly debated. They are often identified with lightly armed troops depicted on contemporary coins, leading to the assumption that they would have rarely worn any armour and went into battle clad in just a chiton. This view, however, is difficult to reconcile with their elite status and has since been challenged by many historians, who see the hypaspists as the royal infantry-guard of Macedon. For that reason, while retaining the weaponry of the aforementioned coin-depictions, a relatively heavy armour such as that represented in RIS is rather more likely to approach historical reality.

At last, a few words on the word ‘hypaspistos’ itself. It can be presumed to be a Macedonian technical term, without a perfect Greek equivalent when used in a military context. Outside of that, it is used to describe an armed retainer. One such example is Euripides calling Iolaus a ‘hypaspist of Heracles’ (Euripides Heracl. 215-216). In a military context, the term is heavily used by Arrian in his account of Alexander’s campaigns. He mentions them no less than 28 times over his whole narrative, while other Greek authors rarely use the term at all, often opting to use a word more familiar to their Greek audience such as ‘doryphors’ (lit. “spearman”). Arrian’s fondness for the term can be explained by his source Ptolemy I, himself a Macedonian Successor, writing for his peers, who had no need to use a non-technical term (Milns, The Hypaspists of Alexander III: Some Problems, 1971).