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The Immortals were the imperial bodyguard as well as the main infantry force of the standing army in the Achaemenid Empire. Herodotus stated that this name derived from the fact that “When any one of them left the number incomplete, whether by force of death or of sickness, a substitute was appointed, so that they never were more or less than 10,000 men.” Always kept at full strength, the Immortals were armed with bow, spear and shield, and an akinakes, kopis or sagaris as a side-arm; trained in all of these weapons to serve as shielded spearmen and/or archers. They were also armoured in scale breastplates or linothorax, and wore ornate clothing and gold ornaments in battle, denoting their exalted rank. There were 10 divisions of a thousand men each, nine of them had silver pomegranates on

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  • Immortals/History
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  • The Immortals were the imperial bodyguard as well as the main infantry force of the standing army in the Achaemenid Empire. Herodotus stated that this name derived from the fact that “When any one of them left the number incomplete, whether by force of death or of sickness, a substitute was appointed, so that they never were more or less than 10,000 men.” Always kept at full strength, the Immortals were armed with bow, spear and shield, and an akinakes, kopis or sagaris as a side-arm; trained in all of these weapons to serve as shielded spearmen and/or archers. They were also armoured in scale breastplates or linothorax, and wore ornate clothing and gold ornaments in battle, denoting their exalted rank. There were 10 divisions of a thousand men each, nine of them had silver pomegranates on
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  • The Immortals were the imperial bodyguard as well as the main infantry force of the standing army in the Achaemenid Empire. Herodotus stated that this name derived from the fact that “When any one of them left the number incomplete, whether by force of death or of sickness, a substitute was appointed, so that they never were more or less than 10,000 men.” Always kept at full strength, the Immortals were armed with bow, spear and shield, and an akinakes, kopis or sagaris as a side-arm; trained in all of these weapons to serve as shielded spearmen and/or archers. They were also armoured in scale breastplates or linothorax, and wore ornate clothing and gold ornaments in battle, denoting their exalted rank. There were 10 divisions of a thousand men each, nine of them had silver pomegranates on the butt of their spears, while the most elite division comprised only of "the best of Persians", had golden pomegranates. It is likely that the 9 "silver" divisions acted primarily as archers, while the "gold" division stood at the front served as the shielded spearmen that protected the other divisions from incoming projectiles or a frontal charge, forming together a "shielded archery" contingent, which was the main infantry formation in Iranian and Near Eastern warfare, both long before and long after. Unlike most of the regular army, however, all of the Immortals were equiped to fulfill both roles if the need arose; this gave them great tactical flexibility, and being the first and last line of defense of the empire; the outstanding discipline and coordination required to make use of it. Less known and studied is that there was also an similar elite force of cavalry, likewise capable of melee and ranged roles, a thousand of them chosen among "the best of Persians", wearing golden apples on the butt of their spears. These elite thousand were probably accompanied by another nine divisions as well, in a similar fashion to infantry Immortals, but this is far less certain. At any rate, it is likely that this cavalry contingent is where the gentry served; for Persian nobles, from the times of Cyrus the Great at the very least, considered shameful to be seen dismounted, both in daily life and the battlefield.
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