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JJDESIGNS MAY 11[SUP]th[/SUP] 2020 NEWS UPDATE
THE ANCIENTS COLLECTION
THE CARTHAGINIANS AND THEIR ALLIES
The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world. Although the navy was always Carthage’s main force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power.
With its Phoenician origins, Carthage already had a long history as a seafaring people. This was helped in that the navy was a permanently manned force, whilst the army would be enlisted only for a particular campaign and then demobilized.
Therefore it was easier to understand how the Carthaginian army was a Combined arms force, which comprised light and heavy infantry, skirmishers, light and heavy cavalry, as well as elephants.
The supreme command of the military was initially held by the civilian “Suffetes” until the third century. Thereafter, professional military generals were appointed directly by the Carthaginian Senate.
Whilst the navy was mainly manned by citizens, the army was composed almost exclusively of foreign mercenary units, particularly Libyans, Numidians, Iberians, Gauls and Greeks.
Only when the city of Carthage itself was threatened would citizens be conscripted into infantry service.
LIBYAN – PHOENICIAN INFANTRY
The backbone of any Carthaginian army and their most reliable troops were the Liby-Phoenician spearmen. The Libyans were not merely mercenaries but could be provided by allied city states or might have been conscripted from a peasant base.
Before Hannibal’s Italian campaign they were presumably armed with long spears, round or oval shields and wore bronze helmets, and wore a linen cuirasses as protective armour.
CARTHAGINIAN VETERAN INFANTRY
Polybios reports that at the battle of Cannae in 216BC, “the armour of the Libyans was Roman, for Hannibal had armed them with a selection of the spoils taken in previous battles.”
This would suggest that the look of the Libyan-Phoenician spearmen took on a more Roman appearance, with their armour changed from the Greek influenced linen cuirasses to chain mail.
It would also be possible to imagine many of these veteran infantry were armed with the Roman scutum.
THE NUMIDIANS
The Numidians were the Berber population of Numidia (present day Algeria and in a smaller part of Tunisia). The Numidians were one of the earliest Berber tribes to trade with the settlers of Carthage, and as Carthage grew , the relationship with the Numidians blossomed. Carthage’s military used the Numidian cavalry as mercenaries. Numidia provided some of the highest quality cavalry of the second Punic war, and the Numidian cavalry played a key role in a number of battles, both early on in support of Hannibal and later in the war after switching allegiances, to the Roman Republic.
Ancient authors, such as Polybius and Livy, tend to stress Carthage’s reliance on mercenary units, which is slightly misleading when applied to the Carthaginian army. While Carthage did employ mercenaries in the true sense of the word, Carthage’s usage of native African and Iberian recruits would not be true mercenaries as these peoples were subjects of Carthage.
Also Carthage’s army was composed of recruits from its allies fighting for Carthage in accordance with bilateral treatise. The Numidian Kingdoms are an example who provided extensive light cavalry due to the close relationship between the two states.
THE ANCIENTS COLLECTION
THE CARTHAGINIANS AND THEIR ALLIES
The military of Carthage was one of the largest military forces in the ancient world. Although the navy was always Carthage’s main force, the army acquired a key role in the spread of Carthaginian power.
With its Phoenician origins, Carthage already had a long history as a seafaring people. This was helped in that the navy was a permanently manned force, whilst the army would be enlisted only for a particular campaign and then demobilized.
Therefore it was easier to understand how the Carthaginian army was a Combined arms force, which comprised light and heavy infantry, skirmishers, light and heavy cavalry, as well as elephants.
The supreme command of the military was initially held by the civilian “Suffetes” until the third century. Thereafter, professional military generals were appointed directly by the Carthaginian Senate.
Whilst the navy was mainly manned by citizens, the army was composed almost exclusively of foreign mercenary units, particularly Libyans, Numidians, Iberians, Gauls and Greeks.
Only when the city of Carthage itself was threatened would citizens be conscripted into infantry service.
LIBYAN – PHOENICIAN INFANTRY
The backbone of any Carthaginian army and their most reliable troops were the Liby-Phoenician spearmen. The Libyans were not merely mercenaries but could be provided by allied city states or might have been conscripted from a peasant base.
Before Hannibal’s Italian campaign they were presumably armed with long spears, round or oval shields and wore bronze helmets, and wore a linen cuirasses as protective armour.
CARTHAGINIAN VETERAN INFANTRY
Polybios reports that at the battle of Cannae in 216BC, “the armour of the Libyans was Roman, for Hannibal had armed them with a selection of the spoils taken in previous battles.”
This would suggest that the look of the Libyan-Phoenician spearmen took on a more Roman appearance, with their armour changed from the Greek influenced linen cuirasses to chain mail.
It would also be possible to imagine many of these veteran infantry were armed with the Roman scutum.
THE NUMIDIANS
The Numidians were the Berber population of Numidia (present day Algeria and in a smaller part of Tunisia). The Numidians were one of the earliest Berber tribes to trade with the settlers of Carthage, and as Carthage grew , the relationship with the Numidians blossomed. Carthage’s military used the Numidian cavalry as mercenaries. Numidia provided some of the highest quality cavalry of the second Punic war, and the Numidian cavalry played a key role in a number of battles, both early on in support of Hannibal and later in the war after switching allegiances, to the Roman Republic.
Ancient authors, such as Polybius and Livy, tend to stress Carthage’s reliance on mercenary units, which is slightly misleading when applied to the Carthaginian army. While Carthage did employ mercenaries in the true sense of the word, Carthage’s usage of native African and Iberian recruits would not be true mercenaries as these peoples were subjects of Carthage.
Also Carthage’s army was composed of recruits from its allies fighting for Carthage in accordance with bilateral treatise. The Numidian Kingdoms are an example who provided extensive light cavalry due to the close relationship between the two states.
