The ''sparabara'', meaning "shield bearers" in Old Persian, were the front line infantry of the

Achaemenid Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

. They were usually the first to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Although not much is known about them today, it is believed that they were the backbone of the Persian army who formed a shield wall and used their two-metre-long spears to protect more vulnerable troops such as

archers Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

from the enemy. The term is also used to refer to the combination of these shield-bearers and the archers that were protected by them. Persian army formation

The earlier

Assyrian army The Neo-Assyrian Empire arose in the 10th century BC. Ashurnasirpal II is credited for utilizing sound strategy in his wars of conquest. While aiming to secure defensible frontiers, he would launch raids further inland against his opponents as a ...

used a tactical formation of one row of archers protected by one row of soldiers equipped with shields. The Persian formation was a modification of this arrangement; nine rows of archers would be protected by one row of shield-bearers. The Persian shield-bearers were further equipped with short spears to increase their effectiveness. The ''Sparabara'' were taken from the full members of Persian society, they were trained from childhood to be soldiers and when not called out to fight on campaigns in distant lands they practised hunting on the vast plains of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. However, when all was quiet and the Pax Persica held true, the ''Sparabara'' returned to normal life farming the land and grazing their herds. Because of this they lacked true professional quality on the battlefield, yet they were well trained and courageous to the point of holding the line in most situations long enough for a counterattack. They were armoured with quilted linen and carried large rectangular wicker shields as a form of light manoeuvrable defense. This, however, may have left them at a disadvantage against often heavier armoured opponents such as the hoplite, and his two-metre-long spear was not able to give the ''Sparabara'' ample range to engage a trained

phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

with their longer 1.8-2.7m

dory A dory is a small, shallow-draft boat, about long. It is usually a lightweight boat with high sides, a flat bottom and sharp bows. It is easy to build because of its simple lines. For centuries, the dory has been used as a traditional fishin ...

. The wicker shields may have also been not as effective as thicker wooden shields in prolonged melee combat. However, the ''Sparabara'' could deal with most other infantry, including trained units from the territories around the Persian empire. The sparabara were supposed to be used in conjunction with Persian heavy cavalry and chariots, which would attack from the rear. An example in which the cavalry failed to be engaged is the

Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination o ...

, which had catastrophic results.

References

External links

*{{commonscat-inline, Sparabara Military units and formations of the Achaemenid Empire Infantry units and formations