Were those metal veiled super elite assault spearmen historical

[khevlan]

You know the Vasci elite spearmen, Selukid super elite spearmen and Gaelic "blackened guard" or whatever, all wearing the metal veils, all allegedly inspired by elite Vasci warriors. They were in EB1. Will they be in EB2 or were they not historical.

[anubis88]

You know the Vasci elite spearmen, Selukid super elite spearmen and Gaelic "blackened guard" or whatever, all wearing the metal veils, all allegedly inspired by elite Vasci warriors. They were in EB1. Will they be in EB2 or were they not historical.

I'm sure some of our historians will be able to explain this better then me. All i know is that it comes down to interpretation of sources. Sometimes it's really hard to understand what the ancient authors tried to tell or what a certain painting is supposed to show. IIRC that was a big thing with the Iberian heavy cavalry, as one picture showed something we couldn't be sure it's armour.

Again i'm not an expert on the subject, and i'm awaiting eagerly for a response as well.

[Thoras]

I think most of them were only aviable in Custom EB1 battles not in the campaign,so I doubt it.

[Ludens]

I think most of them were only aviable in Custom EB1 battles not in the campaign,so I doubt it.

Originally, the Vasci and Goidilic units could be recruited in the EB1 campaign as well, but in later releases this was disabled. The Seleucid equivalent is still in the campaign, though.

As for whether they are historical, keep in mind that all three are hypothetical units. We simply don't know that much about the organization and equipment of non-Roman, non-Hellenic armies. The Seleucid unit was IIRC inspired by the archaeological find of a chainmail veil, as well as literary references to a Seleucid elite infantry unit armed "in the Roman fashion". However, despite what the Vasci's unit description says, I very much doubt that the Seleucids took inspiration from a remote Iberian tribe. The fact that both used a chainmail veil is hardly compelling evidence; and it's not as if the Seleucids could not have come up with the idea of superheavy infantry by themselves.

I believe that the EB team decided to redo all Celtic units. Given that the Goidelic units were contentious to start with, I wouldn't be surprised if they were dropped. I am curious about the origin of the Vasci unit, though, and whether it will be returning.

[V.T. Marvin]

Sadly the Team no longer has any dedicated expert on Iberian peninsula anymore so this question is likely to remain unanswered for quite some time.

[Brennus]

Sadly the Team no longer has any dedicated expert on Iberian peninsula anymore so this question is likely to remain unanswered for quite some time.

I will try and do my best.

Short answer NO. Long answer ABSOLUTELY NOT. Unfortunately our original Iberian/Goidelic specialist was a bit of a romantic when it came to the Iron Age. He derived many units from later Early Medieval texts, or from very questionable archaeological evidence. The Vasci are an example of this. To my knowledge there is nothing in the archaeological record to support the existence of such a unit. Elements of the Vasci armour and weaponry were historical realities in regions which bordered the Basque lands (and some aspects such as the sword did occur in the Basque territories), but they have not been found combined in an archaeological context, nor are they known from literary or iconographic sources. Likewise the mention of early unifications of Ireland is derived from the aforementioned literary sources. There is no historical evidence to suggest that the Ard Ri (high king) convention existed in Ireland before the Early Medieval period. Some sites such as Tara or Emain Macha may indicate the existence of regional or supra-regional leaders, and there is archaeological evidence (brooches and curiously a monkey's cranium) for contacts between Iberia and Ireland during this period. But personally I believe there is no truth in the idea of heavily armed Basque either existing or being imported to Ireland during this period.

[Ibrahim]

Some sites such as Tara or Emain Macha may indicate the existence of regional or supra-regional leaders, and there is archaeological evidence (brooches and curiously a monkey's cranium) for contacts between Iberia and Ireland during this period.

'Tis obvious what this is about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNZ63iwnn5M

[Yavana]

Can anyone give me any information about agematos thorakitai basilikou and hetairoi kataphraktoi? I see here that the veil was found during excavations, does anyone have any information about that? And I remember reading here that baktrian hetairoi kataphraktoi were based on the reliefs found in afganistan. Does anyone have any pictures ir artcles about that? I would be really grateful.

[Stark]

Will Thorakitae Agematos Basilikou be in EB2? I loved my Seleucid terminators.

[QuintusSertorius]

Will Thorakitae Agematos Basilikou be in EB2? I loved my Seleucid terminators.

They've been replaced by Epilektoi Thorakitai; who are a more generalised elite Thorakitai unit, who replace the Hypaspistai with the later reform event.