Service and Supply in the Achaemenid Army
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2013-04-29 Service and Supply in the Achaemenid Army Manning, Sean Manning, S. (2013). Service and Supply in the Achaemenid Army (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27760 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/648 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Service and Supply in the Achaemenid Army by Sean Manning A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF GREEK AND ROMAN STUDIES CALGARY, ALBERTA APRIL 2013 © Sean Manning 2013 Abstract At the end of the fifth century BCE, Cyrus the Younger, son of the Achaemenid king Darius II, decided to challenge his older brother for the throne. Several famous Greek writers described this revolt, and some aspects (such as the battle of Cunaxa) have been frequently studied by scholars. This study uses the revolt of Cyrus as a case study in how Persian armies were raised, organized, and supplied. Beginning with the historical background, it considers the resources which Cyrus had available, how Cyrus used those resources to raise an army, and what happened to this army as it marched east. It uses demographic history, prosopography, and comparative evidence to fill out the Greek and Latin sources. These different forms of evidence suggest that raising an army and marching it to Babylon was no simple process. ii Acknowledgements Many people and institutions contributed to this thesis directly or indirectly. Above all, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Waldemar Heckel. Without his advice, questions, and patience this work would be far more imperfect. I also thank the faculty and staff of the department for their advice, encouragement, and labours. A department is a network of people who remind each other what is happening outside each other’s specialties, keep books circulating and fans turning, and satisfy the university bureaucracy. I also thank the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta, and the Department of Greek and Roman Studies for their financial support. It is a privilege to be paid to engage in curiosity-driven research. In addition, I thank my colleagues in the graduate program for their help as I explored the peculiar institution of graduate school, especially William Barton, Kale Coghlan, Megan Falconer, Danielle Baillargeon, Graham Wrightson, Carolyn Wilikes, Carla Osborne, Jolene McLeod, and Lesley Bolton. I only wish that I had had a chance to get to know them better. Last but not least, I thank my friends and family back in Victoria. They helped me believe that going back to school might not be madness and encouraged me in my gloomiest days. iii Dedication DIS MANIBUS PETRO CONNOLLIO DOCTISSIMO PICTORUM ET VIRO BONO SCRIBENDI PERITO QUI ME LIBRIS A PRIMO DOCUIT DE GRAECORUM FABULIS IN CIVITATE TAM PROCUL iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Introduction to Sources ...................................................................................... 1 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 2. The Sources ................................................................................................................. 3 3. Literary Sources .......................................................................................................... 3 4. Documentary Sources ............................................................................................... 13 5. Comparative Evidence .............................................................................................. 13 Chapter 2 Historical and Political Context ....................................................................... 16 1. Background ............................................................................................................... 16 2. The Actors ................................................................................................................. 19 3. Darius Enters the War ............................................................................................... 24 4. Negotiations at Sparta, winter 413/412 BCE ............................................................ 26 5. The Ionian War ......................................................................................................... 30 6. Negotiations at Miletus, winter 412/411 BCE .......................................................... 34 7. The Athenian Recovery, 411-407 BCE .................................................................... 39 8. The Arrival of Cyrus ................................................................................................. 47 9. A New King and a New Hegemon, 405-404 BCE ................................................... 48 10. Cyrus' Plot, 404-401 BCE ....................................................................................... 51 Chapter 3 Cyrus’ Preparations .......................................................................................... 55 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 55 v 2. The Extent of Cyrus’ Domain ................................................................................... 55 4. The Revenue of Cyrus’ Domain ............................................................................... 66 5. Cyrus’ Political Resources ........................................................................................ 76 6. Raising an Army ....................................................................................................... 91 7. Gathering Supplies .................................................................................................. 102 Chapter 4 Cyrus’ Army on the March ............................................................................ 106 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 106 2. Organization ............................................................................................................ 106 3. Numbers .................................................................................................................. 117 4. The March ............................................................................................................... 130 5. Changes in Numbers ............................................................................................... 136 6. Engineering ............................................................................................................. 141 7.Transport .................................................................................................................. 144 8. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 150 Chapter 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 152 1. The Aftermath ......................................................................................................... 152 2. Parting Thoughts ..................................................................................................... 154 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 158 1. Ancient Sources ...................................................................................................... 158 2. Modern Sources ...................................................................................................... 161 vi List of Tables Table 1: Beloch’s Population Estimates ........................................................................... 62 Table 2: Estimates of the Population of Cyrus' Domain ................................................... 65 Table 3: Cyrus' Courtiers .................................................................................................. 79 Table 4: Transport Ratios of Different Armies ..............................................................