FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   363   364   365   366   367   368   369   370   371   372   373   374   375   376   377   378   379   380   381   382   383   384   385   386   387  
388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404   405   406   407   408   409   410   411   412   >>   >|  
t number of chariots of war, thirty thousand Karian and Ionian mercenaries, and the corps of the Mazai, two hundred and fifty thousand Kalasirians, one hundred and sixty thousand Hermotybians, twenty thousand horsemen, and auxiliary troops, amounting to more than fifty thousand, were assembled under Psamtik's banner; amongst these last the Libyan Maschawascha were remarkable for their military deeds, and the Ethiopians for their numerical superiority. The infantry were divided into regiments and companies, under different standards, and variously equipped. [In these and the descriptions immediately following, we have drawn our information, either from the drawings made from Egyptian monuments in Champollion, Wilkinson, Rosellini and Lepsius, or from the monuments themselves. There is a dagger in the Berlin Museum, the blade of which is of bronze, the hilt of ivory and the sheath of leather. Large swords are only to be seen in the hands of the foreign auxiliaries, but the native Egyptians are armed with small ones, like daggers. The largest one of which we have any knowledge is in the possession of Herr E. Brugsch at Cairo. It is more than two feet long.] The heavy-armed soldiers carried large shields, lances, and daggers; the swordsmen and those who fought with battle-axes had smaller shields and light clubs; beside these, there were slingers, but the main body of the army was composed of archers, whose bows unbent were nearly the height of a man. The only clothing of the horse-soldiers was the apron, and their weapon a light club in the form of a mace or battle-axe. Those warriors, on the contrary, who fought in chariots belonged to the highest rank of the military caste, spent large sums on the decoration of their two-wheeled chariots and the harness of their magnificent horses, and went to battle in their most costly ornaments. They were armed with bows and lances, and a charioteer stood beside each, so that their undivided attention could be bestowed upon the battle. The Persian foot was not much more numerous than the Egyptian, but they had six times the number of horse-soldiers. As soon as the armies stood face to face, Cambyses caused the great Pelusian plain to be cleared of trees and brushwood, and had the sand-hills removed which were to be found here and there, in order to give his cavalry and scythe-chariots a fair field of action. Phanes' knowledge of the country was
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   363   364   365   366   367   368   369   370   371   372   373   374   375   376   377   378   379   380   381   382   383   384   385   386   387  
388   389   390   391   392   393   394   395   396   397   398   399   400   401   402   403   404   405   406   407   408   409   410   411   412   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

thousand

 

chariots

 
battle
 

soldiers

 

monuments

 

Egyptian

 
fought
 
lances
 

knowledge

 

daggers


shields
 
military
 
hundred
 

number

 

clothing

 

weapon

 
brushwood
 

warriors

 

height

 

removed


scythe

 

cavalry

 

action

 

country

 

Phanes

 

slingers

 

archers

 

unbent

 

composed

 

highest


undivided

 

attention

 

armies

 

charioteer

 

bestowed

 
numerous
 
Persian
 

ornaments

 

decoration

 

wheeled


cleared
 
belonged
 

Pelusian

 

costly

 

caused

 

Cambyses

 
horses
 

harness

 
magnificent
 

contrary