Dardanian Noble Spearmen

Description

Dardanian Noble Spearmen fight with the iconic Illyrian Sibyna spear, a machaira blade, and an Illyrian round shield. They generally wear armour covering most of their body including bronze greaves, torques and Illyrian style helmets, with some opting for Petasoi hats and Thracian helmets. Many of these nobles are armoured in chainmail, a relatively new type of armour for the Dardanians, adopted from their Celtic neighbours either through trade or battle. Dardanian Noble Spearmen are elite warriors who fight in close-formation, proving almost impossible to dislodge in a frontal assault.

Historical background

Dardanian Noble Spearmen represent the elites of Dardanian society and a kingdom that was maintaining its own culture and developing its economy, whilst assimilating some practical ideas from its neighbours. The Dardanian economy was fairly vibrant and were becoming rather at odds with Strabo’s (Strabo 7.5, 7) depiction of them "living in caves beneath their dung-hills”. In some Illyrian areas it is possible to trace the growth of certain villages into major local centres for defence, commerce, and religion, in fact a small local town. The spread of agriculture among the southern Illyrians was inevitably confined to the small areas of cultivable land and is hard to measure in modern archaeology. John Wilkes suggests that the ability of the Dardanians and some other Illyrians to fight as hoplite infantry, for instance against the Molossians in 385/4 BC, potentially indicates an increase in numbers of Illyrian peasantry, too (Wilkes, The Illyrians (1996), p. 126).

The Southern Illyrians, including the Dardanians, generally produced few tradeable goods initially except for such basic items as cloth or Alpine cheese, both valued abroad, until the growth of towns stimulated the introduction of new techniques such as masonry construction, brick, tile and pottery manufacture and metal-working (Wilkes (1996) ,p. 128). The Dardanians also gradually changed their habits of slavery, perhaps indicating an increasing awareness of its lucrativeness on Greek markets. In the 4th and 3rd centuries BC the ‘slaves’ of the Dardanians appear not to be prisoners bought from Hellenic markets, but instead to have been dependent communities, who could still participate in military expeditions on occasion. Later in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Hellenic coins found throughout the Balkans give evidence of an actual Illyrian practice of selling slaves to places like Appolonia (Wilkes (1996), p. 127). For example, Justin notes that one Dardanian raid upon Macedonia resulting in over 20,000 prisoners being taken (Justin, 29.4), which would definitely represent a substantial economic boost.

The tumulus-burials in Metohija and Kosovo, home region of the Dardanians, are where a distinctive Illyrian culture has been established, the Glasinac culture (Wilkes (1996), p. 65). However, there is strong evidence to support the adoption or adaptation of certain elements of Celtic La Tene and Illyrian cultures. In this case, there exists strong evidence for the adoption of cultural elements between the Skordiskoi and Dardanians. It is likely that the Skordiskoi moved through Dardanian territory, as Celtic remains have been found there (Sasel, Appian and Illyricum (2005), p. 145). For example, a stronghold was found in southern Serbia, which contained predominantly Dacian and Celtic pottery, and was likely used as a launching point for the attacks into Macedonia (Sasel (2005), pp. 146-147).

Strabo makes note of a ‘Celto-Illyrian mixture’ of the Iapodes (Strabo, 6.4.10, 7.5.4) and ‘Celto-Thraco-Illyrian mixture’ of the Skordiskoi (Strabo, 7.3.11, 7.5.12), but perhaps Strabo was unaware that this might imply these peoples to be distinct with different cultural habitats (Dzino, The Celts In Illyricum (2008), p. 57). Whilst the Iapodes are obviously not the Dardanians, this is still clear evidence of a degree of cultural exchange between Celt and Illyrian. Justin (24.8) tells that when the Celts under Brennus invaded Macedonia and Greece, they passed through Dardanian lands without causing much damage, however, upon their retreat, the Dardanians attacked the shattered survivors and "overwhelmed a host of the Gauls, and some of the densest bodies of the enemy were scattered abroad, not without wounds, and fell to the earth”. This kind of experience fighting the Celts would have certainly increased Dardanian exposure to, and knowledge of, Celtic warfare and technology, hence these Dardanian Noble Spearmen make use of chainmail.

Stats

Weapons

Defence

Condition and terrain

In battle: Can hide in long grass · Can sap · Very good stamina