Immortals ( grc, Ἀθάνατοι, Athánatoi) or Persian Immortals was the name given by Herodotus to an elite

heavy infantry Heavy infantry consisted of heavily armed and armoured infantrymen who were trained to mount frontal assaults and/or anchor the defensive center of a battle line. This differentiated them from light infantry who are relatively mobile and li ...

unit of 10,000 soldiers in the army of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

. The unit served in a dual capacity through its role as

imperial guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...

alongside its contribution to the ranks of the Persian Empire's standing army. While it primarily consisted of Persians, the Immortals force also included

Medes The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

and Elamites. Essential questions regarding the historic unit remain unanswered because authoritative sources are missing.

Herodotus' account

Herodotus describes the Immortals as being

led by

Hydarnes the Younger Hydarnes II ( peo, 𐎻𐎡𐎭𐎼𐎴, Vidṛna), also known as Hydarnes the Younger (by contrast with his father Hydarnes the Old) was a Persian commander of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC. He was the son of Hydarnes, satrap of th ...

; it provided the professional corps of the Persian armies and was kept constantly at a strength of exactly 10,000 men. He stated that the unit's name stemmed from the custom that every killed, seriously wounded, or sick member was immediately replaced with a new one, maintaining the corps as a cohesive entity with a constant strength. The

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

denomination of the unit is uncertain. This elite force is only referred to as the "Immortals" in sources based on Herodotus. There is evidence of the existence of a permanent corps from Persian sources, which provided a backbone for the tribal levies who made up the bulk of the Achaemenid armies; however, these do not record the name of "Immortals". It is suggested that Herodotus' informant has confused the word () with (), but this theory has been criticized by

Rüdiger Schmitt Rüdiger Schmitt (born 1 July 1939) is a German linguist, Iranologist, and educator. He was a professor of Comparative Indo-European Philology and Indo-Iranian Studies at Saarland University in Saarbrücken, Saarland, Germany, from 1979 until 2004 ...

History

The Immortals played an important role in the

Achaemenid conquest of Egypt The Achaemenid conquest of Egypt took place in 525 BCE, leading to the foundation of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the "First Egyptian Satrapy" (). Egypt thus became a province (satrapy) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire until 4 ...

under Cambyses II in 525 BCE, as well as in the Achaemenid conquest of northwestern ancient India ( western Punjab and Sindh, now located in Pakistan) and European Scythia under Darius I in and 513 BCE, respectively. They also notably participated in the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label= Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lastin ...

in 480 BCE during the Greco-Persian Wars and were amongst the Persian troops who occupied Greece in 479 BCE under Mardonius. During the final decades of the

, the role expected of the Immortals' () was extended to include that of chief minister to the King of Kings. The provision of a bodyguard, in direct attendance of the monarch, had already been allocated to a select thousand-strong detachment of the unit.

Equipment

Xenophon () describes the guard of Cyrus the Great as having bronze

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

s and helmets, while their horses wore chamfrons and peitrels of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

together with shoulder pieces which also protected the rider's thighs. Herodotus instead describes their armament as follows: wicker shields covered in leather, short spears,

quiver A quiver is a container for holding arrows, bolts, ammo, projectiles, darts, or javelins. It can be carried on an archer's body, the bow, or the ground, depending on the type of shooting and the archer's personal preference. Quivers were tr ...

s, swords or large daggers, slings,

bows and arrows The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles (arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was commo ...

. They wore

scale armour Scale armour (or scale mail) is an early form of armour consisting of many individual small armour scales (plates) of various shapes attached to each other and to a backing of cloth or leather in overlapping rows.silver; to differentiate commanding ranks, the officers' spear butt-spikes were of gold. The regiment was followed by a

caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

of covered carriages,

camel A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

s, and mules that transported their supplies, along with

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

and attendants to serve them; this supply train carried special food that was reserved only for their consumption. The headdress worn by the Immortals is believed to have been the Persian tiara. Its actual form is uncertain, but some sources describe it as a cloth or

felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

cap which could be pulled over the face to keep out wind and dust in the arid Persian plains. Surviving Achaemenid coloured glazed bricks and carved reliefs represent the Immortals as wearing elaborate robes, hoop earrings and gold jewellery, though these garments and accessories were most likely worn only for ceremonial occasions.

Legacy

Sasanian Empire

The first re-occurrence of the word "Immortals" is in

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

historians' description of an elite cavalry unit in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

of the Sasanian Empire. Primary sources suggest that they numbered around 10,000 men in accordance with tradition, with the main formational difference being that they were heavy cavalry. However, recent scholarship has doubted the Roman description of the force, including their name, their size, and that they were modeled on the Achaemenid Immortals, although there may have been one or more of such distinct elite cavalry units during the Sasanian period. Their task was mainly to secure any breakthroughs and to enter battles at crucial stages.

Byzantine Empire

The designation "Immortal" to describe a military unit was used twice during the era of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

: first as elite heavy cavalry under

John I Tzimiskes John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

() and then later under

Nikephoritzes Nikephoritzes ( el, Νικηφορίτζης) was an influential Byzantine eunuch official, who served as chief minister and virtual ruler of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Emperor Michael VII Doukas (r. 1071–1078). His actual name was ...

, the chief minister of Byzantine emperor

Michael VII Doukas Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...

(), as the core of a new central field army following the disastrous Byzantine defeat at Manzikert to the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

in 1071.

French Empire

During the 19th-century Napoleonic Wars, many French soldiers referred to Napoleon's Imperial Guard as "the Immortals".Georges Blond, ''La Grande Armée'', trans. Marshall May (New York: Arms and Armor, 1997), 48, 103, 470

Imperial State of Iran

Under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, the

Imperial Iranian Army , founded = , current_form = (Islamic Republic) , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Tehran , website = , commander-in-chief = Maj. Gen ...

included an all-volunteer known as the Javidan Guard (, ), named after the ancient Persian royal guard. The Javidan Guard was based at the Lavizan Barracks in Tehran. By 1978, this elite force comprised a brigade of 4,000–5,000 men, including a battalion of

Chieftain tanks The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s–1990s. A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine (reclining) driver position to British design allowing a heavily sloped hull with r ...

. Following the

1979 Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...

that ended the Imperial State of Iran and the Pahlavi dynasty, the "Immortal Guard" was disbanded.

Islamic Republic of Iran

The signature shield of the

's Immortals has been adopted in the insignia of the

65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade 65th Airborne Special Forces Brigade ( fa, تیپ ۶۵ نیروهای ویژه هوابرد), or the ''NOHED'' Brigade (), is an airborne, special forces unit of the Iranian Army established in 1959. The unit's first operation was during the Dh ...

and the 55th Airborne Brigade of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Army , founded = , current_form = (Islamic Republic) , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Tehran , website = , commander-in-chief = Maj. Gen ...

In popular culture

Herodotus' account of two warrior elites—the hoplites of Sparta and the Immortals of Persia—facing each other in battle has inspired a set of rather colourful depictions of the battle, especially in regard of the Immortals: *In the 1962 film '' The 300 Spartans'', the Immortals carry a spear and wicker shields like the actual Immortals. However, they are mostly dressed in black and other dark colors in contrast to historical depictions. *

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

's 1998 comic book ''

300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 ( CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, year 1053 ''Ab ...

'' and the 2006 feature film adapted from it present a heavily fictionalized version of the Immortals at the

in 480 BCE. These Immortals wear

Mengu , also called or , are various types of facial armour that were worn by the samurai class and their retainers in feudal Japan. These include the ''sōmen'', ''menpō'', ''hanbō'' or ''hanpō'', and ''happuri''. Description The ''men-yoroi'' ...

-style metal masks, appear to be inhuman or disfigured, and carry a pair of swords closely resembling Japanese wakizashis. *

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

's 2007 film ''

Last Stand of the 300 ''Last Stand of the 300'' is a TV documentary/reenactment which premiered on The History Channel in 2007. It was directed by David Padrusch. Synopsis In 480 B.C, during the Greco-Persian Wars the Persian Empire led by Xerxes I of Persia fough ...

'' also features the Immortals as part of the reconstruction of the historic battle at Thermopylae in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. In this version, the Persian tiara that the Immortals habitually wore is depicted as a full-face black cloth mask transparent enough to see through.

References

Sources

* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=July 2020 Military units and formations of the Achaemenid Empire Royal guards Battle of Thermopylae Combat occupations Infantry units and formations