Osprey Elite 42 : The Persian Army 560-330 BC

The Persian Empire grew in the vacuum left by Assyria's destruction of the Kingdom of Elam. Prince Teispes captured Anshan, once a stronghold of the Elamites and began to call himself "King of the City of Anshan". His father, Achaemenes is the person who is apparently responsible for training and organising the early Persian army and it is his name that is beginning of the royal line of Achaemenian Kings. It is a dynasty which includes Darius the Great - the finest ruler of the Achaemenid era and the best organiser of the Persian Empire. Darius conquered the Indus valley and campaigned against tribes on the frontiers before successfully suppressing the revolt of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor. His punitive expedition against Greece, however, failed spectacularly at the legendary battle of Marathon. The army he commanded included the infamous 'Immortals', who formed the élite of the Persian army, their numbers always kept to exactly 10000 men. In addition, many vanquished people from many different places were forced to fight in the Persian warmachine. Nick Sekunda outlines the history, organisation, equipment and appearance of the Achaemenid Persian army [560-330BC], backed by a wealth of illustrations including 12 full page colour plates by Simon Chew.

Contents

• The Persian Army 560-330 BC
• The Persian National Army
• Darius the Great
• War in the West
• 4th Century Setbacks and Reforms