Re: Assorted Historical Questions - Gertrude et al, ask them here!
Originally Posted by russia almighty
Actually just got back from vacation with my g/f. I can laugh because I know she won't read this...
They would have been a unit made out of Hellenized Indians or Kamboja and Bahlikas who would be settled in the plains of "Pentapotamia" or Sindh, and up to the area of Mathura in the west (right under modern Delhi) -captured by a combined Yavana(IndoGreek) and Kamboja force- according to the Mahabharata. Also they would have reached Demetrias in Patalene or present day Indus mouth.What kind of unit would the Indo-hellenic pezhetairoi been? A unit to bridge the lightness of the indo-hellenic hoplites and heavy baktrian royal guard/indo-hellenic royal guard, or, a small corp of pikemen left around for just in case situations, or a very specific role?
There has been found a pike butt and also a pike business end in present day Pakistan which was dated much later than the time of Megas Alexandros.
Before going on to details about the IG and their army, some details on my favorite subject, the Indogreeks.
-Battle of Areios river and Indian sources (which call Yavanas (aka IndoGreeks) Ksatriyas (aka Horsemen)) seem to suggest that the big majority of Baktrians and thus IG were mounted.
-According to Hammond's book on Phillipos B' of Makedonia, he had a foot force of 500 most trusted hypaspistai who served as his personal guards. 500 is the number of Menandros' entourage mentioned in Milindapanha when a Buddhist monk visits Menandros in his capital at Sagala.
-Also according to Hammond, Phillipos B' of Makedonia settled allied peoples as he pleased in newly conquered "ΔΟΡΥΚΤΗΤΕΣ ΓΑΙΑΙ" or "spearconquered lands". If we combine this reality of all Makedonian descended states with known accounts of Kamboja in Mathura area and in the mouth of Indus river, we can assume that Menandros or even earlier Demetrios would have settled Kamboja in the far reaches of the empire to keep them safe, as they would have to know that without the help of their overlords, their subject peoples would be lost in the sea of Indian peoples. Further proof for that is the fact that while the towns of Bahlikas "and their corrupt ways, aka women drinking wine and partying"-as reported by a hindu monk in Mahabharata in present day Sindh, existed at some time, they are not to be found in Alexandros' anabasis by Arrian when he describes the area.
As "Pentapotamia" aka present day Sindh was the powerbase of Menandros and Bahlikas (as part of Panchalas) were part of his force which reached and conquered Pataliputra (former Mauryan capital), we know that Bahlikas resided in Sindh and possibly lower down the Indos plain. (again Mahabharata)
All of the above seem to suggest to me that while there were pikemen, the elite troops of IG were either Heavy cav (which later conglomerated in a Lonchophoroi/HA hybrid) or elite troops of hypaspistai (or IG noble hoplites) variety.
Pikemen would be fielded of course but by the subject peoples of the IG. Meaning Hellenized (to various degrees) Kambojas, Bahlikas and native Indians. One of the reasons for this is that it was standard practice to employ locals as pikemen. Alexandros did it, when he trained 30.000 "epigonoi" Persians to fight in a pike phallanx formation, Pyrrhos did it when he created the Tarantinoi "Leukaspides", "who fought in the Makedonian fashion".
So IG pezhetairoi would be the most trusted of the subject peoples of IG. We can't be sure of the extent of the pike phallanx usage of the IG armies, as they probably would have been elephant fodder. It is more probable that they would have been trained as "hoplitai hindoi" or IG peltasts instead.
"Alexandreia in Arachosia" and "Alexandreia in Paropamisadai" both founded by Alexandros would certainly be a place to raise a Pikemen army. According to what we know, Menandros himself was an army brat, born and raised in Alexandreia in Paropamisadai
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