Warrior Ancient and Medieval Rules

[Doug]

>Elephants? Parthians? Beats me off the top of my head.
>
>Parthian camel cataphracts will remain, no doubt about it. I just
>couldn't tell you how many.

Rawlinson (_7th Oriental Monarchy_) makes no mention of elephants in
Parthian service, although the early pages mention the numbers and
sources of Seleucid elephants.

He footnotes Herodianus when mentioning Artabanus' use of armored,
lance/long spear, camel cavalry at the battle of Nisibis, denoting
them as a "corps" but the subject is their uniqueness, not quantity.
[Chap XXI] He doesn't mention the camels having armor; which source
has that?

Tacitius doesn't mention the camels at all:
http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.11.xv.html

Pesonally, I'd like to see a "heaps of the dead piled so high that
the manoeuvres of the troops were impeded by them" obstacle rule.

WRT list making--
Rawlinson particularly points out the fortuitous circumstances that
led to King Orodes sending a completely mounted force against Crassus
under the command of the Surenas. The King intended to keep the
Armenian's busy personally, in order to prevent them from linking up
with the Romans, and the terrain dictated that he keep the
infantry.[Chap XI]

Rawlinson states "This was not the ordinary character of a Parthian
army, which often comprised four or five times as many infantry as
cavalry."

The DBM Parthian list is cavalry oriented, and has Ps/Bw which are in
quantities insufficient to be 80% of the army. One would think that
Auxilia would be utilized when fighting in the Armenian mountains and
the generally "bad going" further East. The only way to do an
infantry army, utilizing Auxilia, is to take them as allies, but I
wonder if that is a good representation of the political situation.

NOTES:
While surfing, I found this review of a book of essays on Rome in the
East which might be of use in creating a better Parthian list:
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1999/1999-02-03.html
>>>
David Kennedy's essay, 'Parthia and Rome: eastern perspectives'
(pp.67-90), attempts to escape from 'Rome-centric' approaches to
Roman-Parthian relations and explores the possibilities for achieving
a Parthian perspective on relations with the Roman empire. As he
acknowledges, the limited character of indigenous Parthian sources
presents serious problems here, but he suggests some more indirect
approaches.
SNIP
The discussion includes comparison of Roman and Parthian military
resources and organisation with a view to understanding Rome's
increasing success in the 2nd century AD.
>>>
--

Doug
The price of freedom is infernal vigilantes

"The tyranny of the legislatures is the most formidable dread at
present, and will be for long years. That of the executive will come
in it's turn, but it will be at a remote period." James Madison, 15
March 1798 (_Papers of J.M._ vol 12, p.14; LC call no. JK.111.M24)