The ''thorakitai'' (; : θωρακίτης, ''thorakites'') were a type of soldier in

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

armies similar to the '' thureophoroi''. The literal translation of the term is "cuirassiers", which suggests that they may have worn a short

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

shirt or possibly a ''

linothorax The ''linothorax'' (, from the , ) is a type of upper body armor that was used throughout the ancient Mediterranean world. The term ''linothorax'' is a modern term based on the Greek , which means "wearing a breastplate of linen"; a number of anc ...

''.

Role

''Thorakitai'' were used in armies of the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

in a variety of tactical situations. They were a type of armoured but mobile infantry who did not require a rigid formation to be effective in combat. From their name we can deduce that most wore armor and helmet. They bore a '' thureos'', an oval shield, and were armed with sword, javelins and spear, which were used according to their tactical use. It seems that the ''thorakitai'' were heavily armored ''thureophoroi'', able to bear spears and do battle in a

phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

as well as engage in irregular warfare in situations when such an action was required for tactical reasons, like to exploit or challenge rough terrain. One view is that the ''thorakites'' were a final step in the development of the

peltast A ''peltast'' (, ) was a type of light infantry originating in Thracians, Thrace and Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia and named after the kind of shield he carried.

s. Alternative views state that they were

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the sold ...

s with cheaper equipment. Roman authors may have seen them as imitation

legionaries The ancient Rome, Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius''; : ''legionarii'') was a citizen soldier of the Roman army. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Republic and ...

History

The ''thorakitai'' are mentioned in the army of the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

and in the Seleucid army. The Seleucid ''thorakitai'' were used in the storming of the Elburz Range in 210 BC under

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

. They were used with the lighter troops to climb the cliffs and fight hand to hand with the enemy who might have not been dislodged by the lighter troops in the assault.Bar-Kochva (1979), p.142-45 There is a tomb illustration from

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

showing what could well be a ''thorakites''. The fragmentary inscription indicates that he was an

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

References

Sources

*Head, Duncan (1982). ''Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars''. WRG. *Bar-Kochva, Brzalel (1979). ''The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the great campaigns''. Cambridge University Press. *Walbank, F.W. (1967). ''A Historical Commentary on Polybius, Volume III''. Oxford University Press. *{{cite book, first=Chris, last=Webber, title=The Gods of Battle: The Thracians at War, 1500 BC - 150 AD, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=67fNDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP179, date=12 July 2011, publisher=Pen & Sword Books, isbn=978-1-84884-942-6 Military units and formations of the Hellenistic world Ancient Greek infantry types