The Silver Shields: Philip's and Alexander's Hypaspists. | Michael
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THE WARRIOR The Silver Shields Philip’s and Alexander’s Hypaspists IN THE LATE SUMMER OF 318 BCE, IN THE SPUTTERING EMBERS OF THE FIRST BLOODY WAR OF THE ‘SUCCESSORS” (DIADOCHOI) OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, EUMENES OF CARDIA SHELTERED SOMEWHERE ON THE ANATOLIAN PLATEAU IN THE HEART OF CAPPADOCIA WITH SOME 2,500 ‘FRIENDS’ AND ALLIES. EUMENES HAD, WITHIN THE LAST YEAR, BEEN DEFEATED IN THE FIELD BY ANTIGONUS MONAPHTHALMUS, A FORMER GENERAL AND SATRAP ©JohnnyShumate OF ALEXANDER WITH THE GLINT OF EMPIRE IN HIS ONE EYE. ‘SilverShield’withsarissaand pelte, equipped for duty with ByMichaelPark theMacedonianphalanx. Eumenes’ position, unprepossessing mentallydeficientPhilipIII.Apartfrom additional money he requested for atbest,wasimprovedmarkedlybythe appointinghim“GeneraloftheArgead the raising of mercenaries” (Diodorus arrival of a letter, from Polyperchon House” in Asia, the letter carried an Siculus18.58.2-3). in Macedonia, the guardian of and authorisation for Eumenes to draw Displaying great faith in his royal regent for ‘the kings’: Alexander fivehundredtalentsfromthetreasury letter, Eumenes – ‘friends’ in tow IV (Alexander’s infant son) and the in Cyinda, Cilicia, and “whatever –forcedmarchedtoCyinda.Thatfaith Ancient Warfare 25 THE WARRIOR was rewarded when he was joined wouldindicate. the hypaspists or the royal hypaspists by three thousand intimidating old The Macedonian Silver Shields, or andactedastheking’sguardwhenhe sweatsofthecampaignsofAlexander Argyraspids, were an elite corps. They foughtonfoot.Itisunderthesenames and Philip. Having come “from a are described by Diodorus (17.57.2) as that we find them operating under considerable distance in obedience to “being distinguished by the brilliance Alexanderineverysetpiecebattleand thelettersofthekings”(Diod.18.59.1), ofitsarmsandthebraveryofitsmen” most every other action described by thethreethousandMacedonianSilver and,atthegreatbattleofParaetecene the Alexander historians of antiquity. Shields (so named for the silver arms in317,as“undefeatedtroops,thefame They are always in close attendance provided them by Alexander at the of whose exploits caused much fear uponthekingwhetherinthephalanx beginningoftheIndiancampaign),led amongtheenemy”(18.28.1).Aswellthey lineoraroundthekingwhenhefought by Antigenes and Teutamos, billeted mighthaveformanyoftheseveterans onfootorledvariousassaults. themselves within the royal general’s hadservedbothPhilipIIandAlexander camp.Thiswas,aseventswouldshow, of Macedon. They were the picked Elite warriors thesignallyimportantoutcomeofthe corpsoftheMacedonianfootandhad The ‘regular’ hypaspists, as is letterstoEumenes.Itwasalsoadeadly rendered a lifetime of professional reasonably attested, were brigaded doubleedgedsword. service to the Macedonian kings. into three chiliarchies (units of 1,000) Indeed, Justin describing Alexander’s andwereselectedforinclusiononthe Atthistimetheyoungestofthe invasionarmyof334notesthathetook basis of skill, physique and quality. Silver Shields were about sixty men not “in the flower of their age, Whatsetthisunitapartwasitscalibre: years old, most of the others butveterans,mostofwhomhadeven this was a unit where inclusion was about seventy, and some even passed their term of service, and who based solely on merit; departure was older; but all of them were had fought under his father and his occasioned by death or retirement by irresistiblebecauseofexperience uncles;sothathemightbethoughtto theking.Theopompus(FGrH115F348) and strength, such was the skill havechosen,notsoldiers,butmasters describes them as “the largest and and daring acquired through in war” (11.6). These “masters of war” most powerful men”. These warriors the unbroken series of their had also managed, after Alexander’s were to prove themselves equally battles. death,tokeeptheircorporateidentity at home alongside the units of the andwereasferociousinguardingthat phalanx in pitched battle; assaulting Diod.19.41.2 corporatereputationastheyweretheir fortified positions; acting in support king: of cavalry and in rapid skirmishing The wider effects of this corps of alongsidelighterinfantryunits. veterans joining the ‘royal general’ But the Argyraspids disdained Much ink has been spent in the wide cannot easily be overstated and the all leaders in comparison ranging debate over just exactly how reaction–frombothEgyptandPhrygia with Alexander, and thought thesetroopswerearmed;muchofthat –wasimmediate. service under other generals inkontheshielditselfanditssize.This Ptolemy sailed to Cilicia with his dishonourabletothememoryof due,innosmallpart,tothename‘shield fleet and engaged in a determined sogreatamonarch. bearers’. There are strong arguments effort to convince the Silver Shields that rather than being armed in the to desert their general. In the words Diod,14.6.7 fashionoftheMacedonianphalangite of Diodorus, he was ignored as “no thehypaspistcorpswasfieldedinthe one paid him any attention because Thiswasanattitudethatsawitsmost hoplitepanoply:cuirassorbreastplate, the kings and Polyperchon, their lethal expression when the Silver greaves, two and a half metre (eight guardian, and Olympias, the mother Shields’ general Antigenes, among foot) thrusting spear with butt-spike, of Alexander, had written to them” others, murdered the arrogant and helmet and aspis. This is likely true in (18.62.2). Antigonus, too, sent agents aggrandisingmarshalPerdiccas.These many situations. For instance, during to Eumenes’ camp to entreat with coldly professional veterans’ loyalty the attack on the Malli town in India, the commanders of the Silver Shields. hadbeengiventothebest:Philipand when Alexander leaps down into the Promising rewards or retribution, he Alexander and they did not suffer townfromthebattlementshedefends toowasroundlyrebuffed. ‘pretenders’lightly. himselfwithashieldthatisunlikelyto The corps that became the Silver havebeenaphalangitepelte-a‘lighter’ Origins Shields had grown from the noble shield of some two feet in diameter Allowing for rhetorical exaggeration bodyguard unit of the Macedonian and designed to hang over the left of the ages (it is more likely that the monarchy, the pezhetairoi or foot shoulder.Peucestasandtheotherroyal bulkwillhavebeenintheirfiftiesand companions.Asthatnamecametobe hypaspists with him will have been sixties),itisreadilyapparentthatthese appliedtotheMacedonianinfantryas armedsimilarly. troops,3,000strongandpartofaforce a whole, most likely under Alexander, This is also likely to be true in the numbering – at this stage – fifteen the unit became the hypaspists or many instances when the hypaspists thousand, were of an importance far shield bearers”. The original noble areassaultingotherfortifiedpositions beyondthatwhichtheirmerenumbers nucleus continued as the agema of using scaling ladders or when – as 26 Ancient Warfare THE WARRIOR historiansofAlexander,writingforan audience who will have needed little explanation, provide the best and themostfrustrating–intermsofthe detailthatmodernswouldlike–guide here. In every set piece pitched battle thehypaspistsarestationedonthefar right of the taxeis (battalions) of the phalanx.Inthispositiontheyabutthe king and his Companion Cavalry. This is so at the Granicus River, Issus and Gaugamela as well as the Hydaspes where these are the units that cross the river upstream with the King. The foremostreasonforthispositioningis thatitistheremitofthisunitand–a fortiori – its agema to keep, as much asispossible,inclosecontactwiththe king. The counter argument is that the hypaspists are stationed here so as to guard the otherwise vulnerable flank ofthephalanx.Toperformsuchatask the hypaspists then must be armed in the more ‘agile’ hoplite fashion and not burdened with heavy saris- sae. As well, this will enable the royal hypaspists to perform the tasks of the hamippoi – light infantry trained to operate among the cavalry. Whilst thismightbeso,itentirelymissesthe fact that Craterus, the great infantry commander of the left, is afforded no suchprotectiontohisimmediateleftin anyofthesebattles.Infactthisendof thelineisonlygrantedtheThessalian andalliedcavalryprotection.Thework ©JohnnyShumate of the hamippoi, one suspects, will more likely have been performed by thelighterarmouredandmulti-javelin