The Persian Immortals: The Persian Empire's Most Valuable Soldiers
Beginning:
The first empire of ancient Persia was founded by King Cyrus. King Cyrus, who in just fifteen years turned a kingdom formed from a few nomadic tribes into a powerful empire. He is called the 'king of kings'. A formidable warrior himself, he was also able to establish the first empire of ancient Persia on a solid foundation in a very short period of time.
In modern times, every country's army has special military units in addition to regular troops, whose fighters are more skilled than those of other armies. About two and a half thousand years ago, Cyrus the Great was able to understand the importance of such specialized military units. His special military units played an important role in the security and expansion of his empire.
King Cyrus' special military unit is recorded in history as 'The Persian Immortals'. There is a minor controversy over the nomenclature. According to many historians, the name of this special unit was 'Anusiya', which in Bengali means 'companion'. But those who call this unit 'The Persian Immortals', have strong arguments behind their claim. It is said that the total number of members of this special unit was ten thousand. If even one of these ten thousand soldiers was wounded or killed, his place was immediately filled by another warrior in reserve. This means that behind the main special unit of 10,000 soldiers, another small group of 'Immortals' was always kept ready, so that if a warrior was injured during battle or for any other reason, he could be replaced by another 'Immortal'. So this special unit of ten thousand soldiers could never be suppressed, killed, stopped. Because there were always ten thousand soldiers in this unit. Thus they were named as 'The Persian Immortals'.
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Image Source: Wikimedia Commons |
There is also controversy over the founder of the unit 'The Persian Immortals'. According to many historians, the founder of this unit was a female commander named 'Pantia Arteshabad', who was sent by King Cyrus to rule Babylon as his representative. Panthea Arteshabd formed this elite army to defend Babylon from rival kingdoms. However, the famous Greek historian Xenophon gives the main credit for the formation of this special military unit to Cyrus, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, 'King of the Kings'. According to him, King Cyrus formed this unit from the second-ranked soldiers of his army at the time, The Spada, whose primary task was to ensure the security of the royal palace.
Regardless of the name of the founder, King Cyrus and his successors all used this force with great skill to ensure their security and change the course of the battlefield. Any historian freely admits the role of this unit behind the success of the Achaemenid Empire that lasted for almost two hundred years.
The members of this special military unit were originally selected from among the inhabitants of Persia. But the selection was made not from all the inhabitants, but from among the most elite of the society. Later, when the Median and Elamite states came under King Cyrus, it was decided to select members of this special unit from these two states as well. These two kingdoms were once enemies of King Cyrus, so he was faced with a question of treachery by chosen members from these two kingdoms in the future. But by their presence in this unit, it is easy to understand that King Cyrus did not care about the betrayal.
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Image Source: Baharlou / Adobe Stock |
Throughout the two hundred years of the Achaemenid Empire's history, the 'Immortals' chosen from the kingdoms that once opposed King Cyrus, later conquered, never betrayed him. They were recruited very precisely, so that the standard of this particular military unit never fell.
Training for children to join the army of the Achaemenid Empire usually began at the age of five. Initially they were trained in horse riding, hunting, archery etc. At the age of twenty, they were recruited as soldiers in the army of 'The Spada'. The strongest and most militarily skilled of these soldiers were drawn into these special military units, which constituted only ten percent of the total army of the Achaemenid Empire.
The main weapon of these soldiers was a spear six feet long, with a very sharp tip. Also, the back of this spear was apple-shaped, one hit of which was enough to kill an opposing soldier. Members of 'The Persian Immortals' unit wore a head mask called a 'tiara', which served as a shield against wind and dust. They also wore many gold ornaments. Special food and slaves were assigned to them in the battlefield. Everybody in the society highly respected them.
According to history, archers were at the forefront of Cyrus' army during the war. Then there were 'The Persian Immortals'. Their job was to help the archers to continue their work without interruption. And the cavalry was next to it. This military unit played a special role in almost all kingdom conquests – Medes, Lydia, Babylon.
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Image Source: We are the mighty |
Pharaoh Samatic III of Egypt was defeated by King Cambyses II, son of King Cyrus, in 525 BC. The army of Immortals played a great role in defeating the then Pharaoh of Egypt at the Battle of Pelusium. After winning this war, the Achaemenid Empire expanded to Egypt. Seeing their superiority in battle, the Arabs and Cypriots of Sinai and Judea offered an alliance with King Cyrus instead of war. Emperor Darius III of the Achaemenid Empire also used this military unit in his conquest of Sindh and Punjab.
The unit 'The Persian Immortals' always played a role in the expansion of the Achaemenid Empire. The special forces that Cyrus had launched, for the next two hundred years, were synonymous with the security of the empire and success on the battlefield. As stories of giving their all on the battlefield spread by word of mouth, the status of members of this special unit increased manifold in Achaemenid society. At the age of fifty, members of the unit were usually retired, to make way for younger soldiers to serve in the unit. After retirement, these soldiers were given adequate allowances and land ownership so that there was no problem in their living. Even after retirement, the members of this unit would get due appreciation from all the society.