Description
The royal guard, a phalanx of elite spearmen who protected the kings of Bactria, resulted from Alexandrian and eastern influences. They wore bronze armour and Phrygian helmets, but carried smaller shields than was typical among hoplites. They were armed with Greek-style short swords and spears rather than the longer sarissa used by many western states. A half-way point between the phalangite and hoplite-like hypaspists of Alexandrian and later Successor armies, the Bactrian royal guard were used to protect the flanks of sarissa-armed phalanxes. Such elite units were a deliberate echo of Alexander’s patronage and reforms, and marked the move from the citizen-soldier, loyal to the state, to the professional soldier, loyal to his paymaster alone.
