Units of History - The Macedonian Silver Shields DOCUMENTARY

alexander the great is rightfully famous for his legendary campaigns across the ancient world for 13 years the macedonian king fought battle after battle that would see him lead an army to the ends of the earth yet we must acknowledge that those who marched by his side were also warriors of equal measure but one unit in particular stands head and shoulders above the rest the three thousand our guy rasputies the silver shields after all these elite veterans had been fighting since before alexander was crowned and would continue to do so long after he had died hailed as athletes of war with an unbroken chain of victories they drove fear into the hearts of any enemy they faced today let us dive into the incredible story of the most grizzled unit of history the tale of the silver shields is just one small chapter from one book in the vast library that is all of human history i've absolutely loved exploring a section of it and have always wanted to learn more at a faster pace than i can read or even collect books thankfully our sponsor blinkist has a solution blinkist is an app that puts the vast library of human history at your fingertips what's more it takes thousands of non-fiction books and uses experts to distill them down to their most essential ideas for you to easily digest with text or audio in just 15 minutes it's been a great tool for me to explore other sections of the history library that i rarely visit and even tread further beyond into the 27 other sections offered by blinkist as a great example i was recently able to listen to the lessons of history by will and ariel durant which tracks the changes of humanity and matters of morality religion government systems economics and war i also finally got to take a crack at machiavelli's the prince which offered a fascinating insight into glory and power it's a book that i've long wanted to read but never got around to i'm sure that when you try blinkist you'll also be able to explore many hidden gems of your own so check it out now by clicking the link in the description below to get a 7 day free trial in addition the first 100 people will get 25 off a full membership enjoy we can trace the institutional origins of the silver shields back to the early days of macedonian rule it seems that in the 400s bc the kingdom's army had undergone a series of reforms that included the formation of several elite units these had always existed to some extent in the form of the inner circle of the heteroi or those near the king who formed the backbone of the monarch's political support and accompanied the ruler into battle scholars believe that alexander the first was the one who initially mounted these men into the first proto-units of the hippos heteric or companion cavalry it has also been speculated that he similarly established an elite unit known as the pes heteroi or foot companions who acted as infantry bodyguards in the royal court and on the battlefield however the details of this period are quite vague things only start to come into focus with the reign of philip ii of macedon specifically it would be his significant military reforms around the 360s bc that would more permanently establish the unit of foot companions ancient sources like demosthenes attest to their existence in this period while the historian theo pompous further specifies that they were a unit of bodyguards picked from among the largest and strongest of the macedonians unfortunately little else is stated explicitly about them and we are left to guess many other details about their nature what were their numbers how were they equipped how did they fight in this regard various historians have put their numbers at around one to three thousand it's possible they were equipped in a similar fashion to the new sarissa ferrari but most believe they remained armed as the more traditional and flexible hoplites their training would have been consistent with general drill practice employed by philip with a strict approach to discipline in battle it seems that they held the right flank alongside the cavalry as is mentioned at the battle of aragon valley against the illyrians when philip was assassinated and alexander became king the army would see further modification as it geared up to re-subdue the hellenic world before turning against the great enemy to the east one of these changes seems to have been bestowing the title of peshetary or foote companions to the entire six-unit block of the macedonian levy pikeman meanwhile the elite force which had previously held this title became known as the hepaspistai or shield bearers it's not exactly clear what spurred this change perhaps there was some propaganda or prestige value associated with the move but i wouldn't read too far into this as the difference may just as easily be a matter of notational idiosyncrasies between our limited sources who were writing from different time periods whatever the case this elite force of hippaspists would now be reorganized to meet the needs of alexander's ambitious campaigns at the lowest level this meant forming a file of 16 men into a low cost which was commanded by a locals in turn 16 of these formed a syntagmata of 256 men while two of these formed a pentecosiac of around 500 men commanded by a pentecostiaki early on this was their basic unit structure which would have had a few extra officers standard bearers and musicians attached to give them functionality in battle eventually though the hypaspists would be grouped into larger one thousand men kiliakis under the command of a killyak three of these would then form a three thousand man regiment under the command of an archi hippaspist it is speculated that much of philip's old bodyguard of soldiers and officers would have formed the core of this group any holes in their ranks would have been filled with transfers or new recruits who went through the careful selection process we previously mentioned perhaps though there was some bias towards allowing politically well-connected nobles to join in terms of their equipment each soldier would be quite heavily armed for defense they wore the standard lino thorax or bronze corras turga's skirt and greaves when the situation called for it the head was protected by a phrygian helmet with cheek pieces and a tapering crest that cushioned or deflected blows from above but most important of all would be their large hoplon shield that made up the bulk of their protection for offense they used the dory hoplite spear and the zeifer's sword the make of all this gear would likely have been of quite superior quality given the prestigious and elite nature of the hippaspists thus organized and equipped they made ready for war the reformed hippaspists were first blooded in the thracian campaign of 335 bc before being readied for the invasion of the archaemonid empire when alexander crossed the hellspont in 334 bc he would do so with 3 000 hippaspists one thousand of which were known as the hepaspasta basilicoi or the royal hepaspists leading them as archie hippaspies would be nikonor son of parmenion over the following years the hepasspists would prove to be an invaluable asset which could fill a multitude of roles for instance in the pitched battles of the river granicus isis and gorgomela they acted as a key point of articulation between the infantry and cavalry on the right flank when the situation demanded they could fight as a regular phalanx be dispersed among the horses in the manner of hamipoy advance quickly across broken terrain as a flanking force or be broken out into agile detachments for special missions in siege battles too they proved quite adept at storming operations and featured prominently in the taking of major cities alongside their king the histories are studded with anecdotes of their heroic actions which at times would cost them dearly the commander admits would have his skull split by an axe while assaulting tyre while the officers tamanda and ardius would be felled in the siege of halicarnassus the hepasspists also served an important role outside of battle for example they were often stationed within the king's palace or place of residence to provide security while the royal hippaspists guarded the inner sanctum of the king's chambers further beyond this they could act as a police force having such a loyal source of trusted manpower would prove key on several occasions when alexander wished to move around treasure send top secret letters investigate plots and apprehend mutineers by the time the macedonians made it to mesopotamia it appears that the original three thousand hippaspists had suffered some attrition its ranks were replenished by new recruits while alexander also held special competitions to choose new commanders details are fleeting but it seems that six new pentakossiaks were now chosen along with three new killiarks atarius antigenies and philotus the origin thus reformed they would accompany alexander in his rapid pursuit of darius and later bessus to the east however it's during this chase that their commander nike or son of parmenion would die of illness he would be replaced as aqui hipaspecies by neoptolemus this new commander had noble roots had served in the royal guards and was known to be a fierce character being distinguished as the first to scale the walls in the siege of gaza it was men of this temperament that would suit the macedonian army well as it continued its campaigns into a new theater of war in the far east over the following years alexander's army would march across the satrapis of arya drangiana aracosia gandara bactria and sogdyana here the hippaspists were used extensively in numerous sieges pitched battles ambushes and special missions necessary to tame the region next they would join alexander on his campaigns into india it is at this point that we finally see the emergence of the unit known as the silver shields [Music] the ancient roman historian courteous rufus states that on the eve of the indian expedition alexander added silver plating to his soldiers shields gave their horses golden bits and ornamented their corasses with either gold or silver because he had heard of the splendid arms found among the indians however it's important to note that we have other sources with conflicting stories for instance deodora siculus anachronistically refers to the hipaspists at gorgamela as the argyraspidis while justin erroneously says that the whole macedonian army was given silver gear and called the argyraspidis another clue is that we are told by two sources that after the army mutinied at the hephaesis river and returned to the hedaspies river they received a fresh shipment of armor from the west perhaps this was when the argy raspberries got their famed silver shields clearly there are many interpretations to be had here but it seems scholars do tend to favor the idea that the argyrospites were an evolution of alexander's veteran hippaspists who upgraded their gear at some point during the indian campaigns between 327 and 325 bc following the eventual conclusion of the expedition the entire army would return to the west alexander and the fleet did so along the godrosian desert while another contingent marched inland through the muller pass up to drangyana and back to mesopotamia scholars reconstructing these events seemed to think that the veteran agraspedis took the northern route with cratarus while the mention of other hepaspists with alexander was some splinter group or newly formed set of units whatever the case the army would eventually regroup after much hardship in babylon at this point they were left to watch as their king increasingly took on eastern trappings and implemented a series of reforms which left them feeling alienated this eventually came to a head in the autumn of 324 bc with the mutiny at opus alexander finally managed to arrange a peaceful settlement which involved the dismissal of many european forces including the veteran argyraspadis these now set off with kratzerus on a long journey home they would be way laid in cilicia for a time as the macedonians sought to settle affairs in the region but just as they seemed ready to continue terrible news stopped them in their tracks alexander was dead news shocked the empire and set off a chain reaction of events in the east alexander's generals were mired in heated debate about the future of the empire while in the west a coalition of greek cities rose up in revolt kratoros was torn on which side of the world to involve himself ultimately his allies would secure his political future in the east while he set off for the west he would leave behind the silver shields to guard the treasures that had been stockpiled in cilicia and later to protect felotus who had been assigned as the region's satrap from this position they would find themselves caught between the gears of war put in motion by alexander's ambitious successors the first war of the deodoki around 320 bc for example saw a coalition of western forces namely antipater kratorous antigonus and ptolemy band together to take on perticus who acted as an effective regent in this war perticus sent eumenes with an army north to confront the rebels in anatolia while he himself led an army to invade egypt picking up the silver shields along the way while yuminis proved victorious perticus poorly managed his campaign which struggled to penetrate the nile delta and saw heavy attrition in botched sieges and river crossings this led his officers to turn on him a plot was hatched and at night a cabal which included antigenis commander of the silver shields murdered perticus in the aftermath the murderers would negotiate a peace with ptolemy and a new balance of power was agreed upon between the successes of the partition of triparadisus in these matters the silver shields and especially their commanders would be courted by various factions who saw them as a valuable pawn to control on the chessboard of the empire however they were increasingly adopting an independent mind of their own for the time being they followed their commander antigenis who had been made satrap of susiana and helped him escort the treasures from the old persian capital back to their previous base in cilicia by now many were in their 50s or 60s having seen decades of conflict perhaps they thought they might finally collect their well-deserved spoils and return home as rich men however their dreams of retirement would be cut short with the outbreak of the second war of the deodoki in 318 bc once again many factions would attempt to win their support ultimately they backed yuminis who acted on behalf of the regent polly perkham and who apparently had the backing of the argued house with alexander's own mother writing to argue his case thus the agar aspedis found themselves in the service of another general waging war across the empire this time though they were sure to draw pay from the treasures they had been guarding and accumulated quite the impressive baggage train of goods and followers which included their wives and children eventually you meanese would take them east to draw from the recruiting ground of the satrapies of the east before turning about to face the pursuing forces of antigonus the two would fight in 317 bc at the battle of paris here antigonus deployed around 30 000 heavy infantry 6 000 light infantry 12 000 cavalry and 65 elephants in an oblique order with the left anchored on a hill meanwhile had fewer heavy troops overall but with more light infantry and nearly double the elephants the senior agar aspedis would be deployed on the right wing of the main phalanx but would relinquish their old position on the extreme right to the younger regiments of the hepaspists it's possible that this role reversal meant taking up the sarissa rather than the hoplon but the evidence for this is not clear either way they would be matched up against the greek mercenaries who were sure to be quaking in their boots at the sights of the infamous shining silver shields before them battle began as one of antigonus's cavalry officers launched a preemptive charge which was rebuffed and led to the advance of the main body of eumenes these troops and especially the silver shields proved superior to their counterparts pushing through the ranks of skirmishers elephants and falangites that got in their way the impetus of their attack dealt punishing damage that very nearly led to victory however their push opened a gap of the left flank which was exploited by the cavalry of antigonus that now threatened their rear this forced them to halt and draw back to protect the baggage train thus while antigonus suffered roughly five times as many casualties he was able to turn the battle into a tentative draw and mutual retreat the two rivals would soon clash again at the battle of gabien in 316 bc both forces deployed a massive core of heavy infantry in the center with additional light troops cavalry and elephants antigonus chose to refuse the center while concentrating mobile forces on his right to overwhelm the enemy yumini's in response prepared to parry this thrust meanwhile the senior agar aspedis would be deployed in the center to this end we are told that antigenis leader of the silver shields sent a rider to berate the macedonians in the enemy's front lines saying wicked men are you sinning against your fathers who conquered the whole world under philip and alexander shortly you will see what the argyraspidis can achieve apparently this shook the antigone phalanx while the ranks of eumenes swelled with pride battle trumpets were sounded and the ranks of both sides clashed first came a mast skirmisher and elephant jewel along the front their wheeling bouts churned up massive amounts of dust which obscured much of the battlefield this was exploited by antigonus who managed to slip his cavalry around the flanks of yumini's forcing back his cavalry and capturing his baggage train however he could do little to hold back the inexorable tide of the vaunted silver shields in the center these men most in their 60s and 70s who were old enough to be grandparents of their foes reportedly won a great victory slaying five thousand of the enemy without a single loss yet stripped of cavalry support they were left vulnerable the antigone cavalry now collapsed upon them from the rear but the extreme skill of the silver shields meant they were able to redeploy quickly into a box formation and extricate themselves from the situation as the dust settled they saw that they were unquestioned masters of the field but had lost their baggage train with decades worth of accumulated loot and family to the enemy thus when eumenes attempted to rally them for renewed battle the next day they showed uncharacteristic hesitation they had been hit exactly in their achilles heel what good was any of this fighting if at the end of the day everything they had battled for might be lost many among them now sought more assured means to see their valuables returned their leader antigenis reportedly remained loyal to his master but other officers and veterans opened secret negotiations with the enemy the plot eventually led to an agreement that they would capture and hand over yuminis in exchange for clemency and return of their families as the betrayal was carried out yuminis lay a curse upon them you accursed scoundrels may the gods who punish perjury take note of your conduct and bring you to the end you yourselves have given your leaders yes it was you who a short time ago bespotted yourselves with the blood of perticus and also devised the same fate for antipater you would have killed alexander himself had heaven willed that he could die at a mortal's hand you did your worst and bedeviled him with mutinies now i am the last victim of your treachery and i call down on you this infernal curse may you spend all eternity exiled to this camp poverty-stricken and homeless and may you be destroyed by our own weapons with which you have more often destroyed generals of your own side than those of your enemies this apocryphal tale would be a harbinger of their eventual fate in the aftermath of battle antigonus would have yemenis executed and the commander antigenis burned alive for having resisted turning his commander over as for the veteran silver shields they would be seen as too much of a threat to be kept near the heartland of the empire two thousand of them would be distributed among the garrisons while one thousand of their surviving members were dispatched to the remote satrapies of the east according to our sources instructions were given that they'd be destroyed by sending them on difficult missions from which they were meant never to return such was the terrible fate of one of the most veteran units of antiquity which had won an almost unbroken string of victories over the course of four decades only to be cast aside empty-handed in ignominious exile [Music] we hope you've appreciated this deep dive into yet another fascinating unit of history let us know what you would like to see covered next a huge thanks is owed to our supporters on patreon and the many talented researchers writers and artists who made this video possible a special thanks is owed to our friend from the channel duratus who did the bulk of the heavy lifting for the script definitely check out his channel for more animated history on the macedonians thanks for watching see you in the next one

Channel: Invicta

Views: 207,273

Rating: 4.9568491 out of 5

Keywords: invicta, invicta history, units of history, silver shields alexander, silver shields alexander the great, silver shields, alexander the great, alexander the great documentary, macedonian army, companion cavalry, battle of gaugamela, battle of issus, battle of granicus, wars of the diadochi, antigonus, argyraspides, history documentary, documentary, silver shields documentary, philip the second of macedon, Achaemenid empire, ancient history, military history, ancient greece

Id: csw9uSRjUz8

Length: 26min 32sec (1592 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 21 2021