Sacred Band of Carthage
Encyclopedia
The Sacred Band
of Carthage
is the name used by Greek historians to refer to an infantry unit of Carthaginian foot citizens that served in Carthaginian armies during the fourth century BC. The presence of Carthaginian citizens fighting as infantry in these armies is unusual as Carthaginian citizens usually only served as officers or cavalry in the Carthaginian armed forces and the bulk of Carthaginian armies were usually made up of mercenaries
, infantry from allied communities (who might be Punic colonists) and subject levies.
Trained from an early age to be tough phalanx spearmen, these men were from wealthy Carthaginian
families, and as such had extremely good equipment. They were trained from birth to be great warriors and they were able to afford high quality armor and weapons. They fought as a traditional phalanx organized in the Hellenic style.
The "Sacred Band" consisted of a small heavy infantry unit of 2000-3000 men, who were "inferior to none among them as to birth, wealth, or reputation" and distinguished by "the splendour of their arms, and the slowness and order of their march".
At the Battle of the Krimissus in Sicily in 341 BC, the "Sacred Band" fought as a well organized phalanx. It was destroyed utterly. Two thousand citizen troops (perhaps a similar unit), are recorded as being in Sicily in 311 BC, the last time that citizens troops are recorded as being overseas. By 310 BC, the Sacred Band appears to have been reformed, only to be destroyed in battle against Agathocles at Tunis.
After its destruction in 310 BC, the "Sacred Band" disappears from historical record. When Carthaginian citizen infantry turn up in the historical sources during later wars, their numbers are significantly higher implying a levy of all available citizens due to crisis. Larger citizen forces turned out at the Battle of Bagradas during the First Punic War
, the Mercenary War
, and the Third Punic War
, but the "Sacred Band" is not mentioned in any of the surviving accounts we have of these wars.
, the Sacred Band of Carthage is depicted as a unit of cavalry as well as a hoplite unit.
Sacred band
The term Sacred Band, also Sacred Company or Sacred Squadron can refer to one of the following military units:In the ancient world:* Sacred Band of Thebes* Sacred Band of Carthage...
of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
is the name used by Greek historians to refer to an infantry unit of Carthaginian foot citizens that served in Carthaginian armies during the fourth century BC. The presence of Carthaginian citizens fighting as infantry in these armies is unusual as Carthaginian citizens usually only served as officers or cavalry in the Carthaginian armed forces and the bulk of Carthaginian armies were usually made up of mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, infantry from allied communities (who might be Punic colonists) and subject levies.
Trained from an early age to be tough phalanx spearmen, these men were from wealthy Carthaginian
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
families, and as such had extremely good equipment. They were trained from birth to be great warriors and they were able to afford high quality armor and weapons. They fought as a traditional phalanx organized in the Hellenic style.
The "Sacred Band" consisted of a small heavy infantry unit of 2000-3000 men, who were "inferior to none among them as to birth, wealth, or reputation" and distinguished by "the splendour of their arms, and the slowness and order of their march".
At the Battle of the Krimissus in Sicily in 341 BC, the "Sacred Band" fought as a well organized phalanx. It was destroyed utterly. Two thousand citizen troops (perhaps a similar unit), are recorded as being in Sicily in 311 BC, the last time that citizens troops are recorded as being overseas. By 310 BC, the Sacred Band appears to have been reformed, only to be destroyed in battle against Agathocles at Tunis.
After its destruction in 310 BC, the "Sacred Band" disappears from historical record. When Carthaginian citizen infantry turn up in the historical sources during later wars, their numbers are significantly higher implying a levy of all available citizens due to crisis. Larger citizen forces turned out at the Battle of Bagradas during the First Punic War
First Punic War
The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For 23 years, the two powers struggled for supremacy in the western Mediterranean Sea, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters but also to a lesser extent in...
, the Mercenary War
Mercenary War
The Mercenary War — also called the Libyan War and the Truceless War by Polybius — was an uprising of mercenary armies formerly employed by Carthage, backed by Libyan settlements revolting against Carthaginian control....
, and the Third Punic War
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
, but the "Sacred Band" is not mentioned in any of the surviving accounts we have of these wars.
In popular media
In the 2004 PC game Rome: Total WarRome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
, the Sacred Band of Carthage is depicted as a unit of cavalry as well as a hoplite unit.
Primary sources
- Plutarch, Life of Timoleon.
- Diodorus SiculusDiodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
, Library xvi. and xx.
Further reading
- Head, Duncan "Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars 359 BC to 146 BC" (1982), pp. 33–34.