Post by [ ß ] makis on Mar 8, 2014 9:55:41 GMT
After the death of Alexander the Great, his vast empire was divided into 4 great hellenistic kingdoms by his former generals. They were called the Succesor kingdoms.
Their armies consisted of local populations but the bulk of their forces were Greek warriors fighting in the classic Greek way, the phalanx.
Egypt was ruled by Ptolemaeus, Alexander's greatest general. He created the ptolemaic dynasty and thus Egypt of that time is known as ptolemaic Egypt. It was the greatest and mightiest of all hellenistic kingdoms.
The kingdom survived many centuries and was Rome's biggest adversary over control of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Its army consisted mainly of Greek warriors who were fighting as they have always done, the greek phalanx. It also used local warriors, who were famous for their archery skills.
Its army was the most succesful and effective mix of Greek and local warriors than every other hellenistic kingdom.
This is the phalangites. The core of every egyptian army. Very experienced and efficient troops! Phalangites were exclusively greek warriors fighting in the phalanx formation using spear and shield. When things were close and dirty, they could switch to their short sword, known as the "xiphos". The "xiphos" was a very small sword used for very close combat. A phalangites would switch to the "xiphos" only when his spear was broken, or when the enemy was very very close. While fighting, his mates in the second and third rank of the phalanx would still provide support with their spears. You can choose between two ranks: hoplite- soldier, or dekarch- squad leader
This is the peltast. Their role was to support the flanks of the phalanx. They wore light armour so they could be fast and versatile. They used javelins against the enemy and they carried 3 of them. Javelins were not only thrown at the enemy but they were also used as a melee weapon, stabbing in close range. Since there are no javelins in this game, I gave them the short spear to resemble the close range stab of the javelin.
Peltasts were also shock troops. They would charge dealing great damage and then retreat again. When they came close they would switch to their famous "kopis".
The "kopis" (also known as "kopesh" in Persian language) was a high damaging close combat weapon. It resembled a sword, but it had a much bigger shaft and it was curvy at the end, so that it would deal massive damage concentrated on a single spot, mainly a head , much like the medieval axe. Thats why they mostly used it for overheads. The only weapon I could find in the game, that resembled the "kopis" in both appearance but also functuality was the simple short bill. Ranks: peltast- soldier, dekarch- squad leader
Toxotae. The famous Egyptian archers were succesfully implemented into the ptolemaic army and they were a very important asset for any Egyptian general. This contradicts the main greek belief of the time, that archers are useless and second rate troops. A shiny example of a succesful combination of two civilizations and military concepts...
Toxotae were the most effective archers of their time, shooting in long range with high accuracy. I gave them the barbed arrows to resemble the major impact they had against medium armoured troops. In fact many believe that they were actually using barbed arrows, or the equivalent of barbed arrow of the ancient times. Ranks: toxotis- soldier, dekarch- squad leader
Basilikon Agema! The elite cavalry of ptolemaic Egypt and the royal bodyguard. Ptolemaic Egypt was at war for many centuries with the mighty Seleucid Empire, a kingdom that was famous for their cavalry especially the elite "kataphracts". The Egyptians created the "basilikon agema" to counter the seleucid "kataphract". Both units were the best and heaviest cavalry of ancient times. They were called heavy cavalry because their both horse and rider were heavily armoured. They were excellent shock troops, but their heavy armour prevented them from being able to retreat after their initial charge. So after their devastating charge they had to stay there and continue fighting on horseback with their sidearms, so they were an "one-use" force. A wise general would wait until the perfect moment to unlesh them. I gave them the boar spear and not the eastern passion spear to distinguish their main weapon from the spear of the phalanx which was longer.
Also, because of their quality, they were very expensive to maintain, so there were few of them. At its highest point, the kingdom of Egypt could only field 5000 of them. So i suggest that we put a limit to their number.
I propose one rider for every 4 infantrymen. Ranks: Companion
So an Egyptian army could be something like 5 "phalangites", 4 "peltasts", 3 "toxotae" and 3 "basilika agema"
If you want to change your name into something more ptolemaic for role-playing reasons, I list some ptolemaic names below:
Philip Arrhideus, Cleomenes, Euergetes, Philadelphus, Philopator, Epiphanes, Philometor, Alexander, Dionysus, Archelaus, Caesarion, Cleopatra, Berenice
All these names belonged to kings and queens of the ptolemaic dynasty.
So I think I will rename myself into Makes Lazarion.
Their armies consisted of local populations but the bulk of their forces were Greek warriors fighting in the classic Greek way, the phalanx.
Egypt was ruled by Ptolemaeus, Alexander's greatest general. He created the ptolemaic dynasty and thus Egypt of that time is known as ptolemaic Egypt. It was the greatest and mightiest of all hellenistic kingdoms.
The kingdom survived many centuries and was Rome's biggest adversary over control of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Its army consisted mainly of Greek warriors who were fighting as they have always done, the greek phalanx. It also used local warriors, who were famous for their archery skills.
Its army was the most succesful and effective mix of Greek and local warriors than every other hellenistic kingdom.
This is the phalangites. The core of every egyptian army. Very experienced and efficient troops! Phalangites were exclusively greek warriors fighting in the phalanx formation using spear and shield. When things were close and dirty, they could switch to their short sword, known as the "xiphos". The "xiphos" was a very small sword used for very close combat. A phalangites would switch to the "xiphos" only when his spear was broken, or when the enemy was very very close. While fighting, his mates in the second and third rank of the phalanx would still provide support with their spears. You can choose between two ranks: hoplite- soldier, or dekarch- squad leader
This is the peltast. Their role was to support the flanks of the phalanx. They wore light armour so they could be fast and versatile. They used javelins against the enemy and they carried 3 of them. Javelins were not only thrown at the enemy but they were also used as a melee weapon, stabbing in close range. Since there are no javelins in this game, I gave them the short spear to resemble the close range stab of the javelin.
Peltasts were also shock troops. They would charge dealing great damage and then retreat again. When they came close they would switch to their famous "kopis".
The "kopis" (also known as "kopesh" in Persian language) was a high damaging close combat weapon. It resembled a sword, but it had a much bigger shaft and it was curvy at the end, so that it would deal massive damage concentrated on a single spot, mainly a head , much like the medieval axe. Thats why they mostly used it for overheads. The only weapon I could find in the game, that resembled the "kopis" in both appearance but also functuality was the simple short bill. Ranks: peltast- soldier, dekarch- squad leader
Toxotae. The famous Egyptian archers were succesfully implemented into the ptolemaic army and they were a very important asset for any Egyptian general. This contradicts the main greek belief of the time, that archers are useless and second rate troops. A shiny example of a succesful combination of two civilizations and military concepts...
Toxotae were the most effective archers of their time, shooting in long range with high accuracy. I gave them the barbed arrows to resemble the major impact they had against medium armoured troops. In fact many believe that they were actually using barbed arrows, or the equivalent of barbed arrow of the ancient times. Ranks: toxotis- soldier, dekarch- squad leader
Basilikon Agema! The elite cavalry of ptolemaic Egypt and the royal bodyguard. Ptolemaic Egypt was at war for many centuries with the mighty Seleucid Empire, a kingdom that was famous for their cavalry especially the elite "kataphracts". The Egyptians created the "basilikon agema" to counter the seleucid "kataphract". Both units were the best and heaviest cavalry of ancient times. They were called heavy cavalry because their both horse and rider were heavily armoured. They were excellent shock troops, but their heavy armour prevented them from being able to retreat after their initial charge. So after their devastating charge they had to stay there and continue fighting on horseback with their sidearms, so they were an "one-use" force. A wise general would wait until the perfect moment to unlesh them. I gave them the boar spear and not the eastern passion spear to distinguish their main weapon from the spear of the phalanx which was longer.
Also, because of their quality, they were very expensive to maintain, so there were few of them. At its highest point, the kingdom of Egypt could only field 5000 of them. So i suggest that we put a limit to their number.
I propose one rider for every 4 infantrymen. Ranks: Companion
So an Egyptian army could be something like 5 "phalangites", 4 "peltasts", 3 "toxotae" and 3 "basilika agema"
If you want to change your name into something more ptolemaic for role-playing reasons, I list some ptolemaic names below:
Philip Arrhideus, Cleomenes, Euergetes, Philadelphus, Philopator, Epiphanes, Philometor, Alexander, Dionysus, Archelaus, Caesarion, Cleopatra, Berenice
All these names belonged to kings and queens of the ptolemaic dynasty.
So I think I will rename myself into Makes Lazarion.