Agrianes: Difference between revisions
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The '''Agrianians''' ([[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]: ''Ἀγρίανες''<ref>http://www.trismegistos.org/geo/detail.php?i=7&tm=70</ref>, '''''Agrianes''''') a [[Paionian]]<ref>http://books.google.se/books?id=GJYUXRosRIMC&pg=PA130&dq=agrianes</ref> tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day [[Pčinja District]]<ref>"...The Agrianes once dwelled in the area of lower eastern Serbia..." [http://www.unrv.com/provinces/illyricum.php Illyricum Province]</ref><ref>"...Other tribes linked within the [[Paeonians]] were the ''Agrianians'' to the north in '''southern Serbia'''"[http://www.eliznik.org.uk/Bulgaria/history/thracian-tribes.htm Thracian tribes]</ref><ref>http://www.soros.org.mk/archive/G01/images/sg0106.jpg</ref> of southern [[Serbia]], north of the [[Thracian]] [[Maedi]] tribe in Macedonia and Thrace. They were crack [[Javelin_%28weapon%29#Ancient_Greece|javelin]] throwers and the elite unit of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander the Great's]] light infantry, who fought under the command of [[Attalus (general)|General Attalus]]. |
The '''Agrianians''' ([[Ancient Greek language|Ancient Greek]]: ''Ἀγρίανες''<ref>http://www.trismegistos.org/geo/detail.php?i=7&tm=70</ref>, '''''Agrianes''''') a [[Paionian]]<ref>http://books.google.se/books?id=GJYUXRosRIMC&pg=PA130&dq=agrianes</ref> tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day [[Pčinja District]]<ref>"...The Agrianes once dwelled in the area of lower eastern Serbia..." [http://www.unrv.com/provinces/illyricum.php Illyricum Province]</ref><ref>"...Other tribes linked within the [[Paeonians]] were the ''Agrianians'' to the north in '''southern Serbia'''"[http://www.eliznik.org.uk/Bulgaria/history/thracian-tribes.htm Thracian tribes]</ref><ref>http://www.soros.org.mk/archive/G01/images/sg0106.jpg</ref> of southern [[Serbia]], north of the [[Thracian]] [[Maedi]] tribe in Macedonia and Thrace (Administered by Pella, Agrianes territory was not part of Thrace<ref>http://books.google.se/books?id=qpb3JdwuDQIC&pg=PA39&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=3</ref>). They were crack [[Javelin_%28weapon%29#Ancient_Greece|javelin]] throwers and the elite unit of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander the Great's]] light infantry, who fought under the command of [[Attalus (general)|General Attalus]]. |
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They travelled light, carried a bundle of javelins into battle and wore no armor or helmets, perhaps not even shields<ref>http://books.google.se/books?id=b5MrAAAAYAAJ&q=agrianes&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1</ref>. Alexander made heavy use of them every time he dispatched a [[flying column]], the Agrianians were always included. They were expert fighters in mountainous terrains where the [[Phalanx formation|phalanx]] was impracticable. Being the elite unit of the light infantry, they often formated with the [[hypaspists]] battalion and the companion cavalry at the right wing of the army. |
They travelled light, carried a bundle of javelins into battle and wore no armor or helmets, perhaps not even shields<ref>http://books.google.se/books?id=b5MrAAAAYAAJ&q=agrianes&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1</ref>. Alexander made heavy use of them every time he dispatched a [[flying column]], the Agrianians were always included. They were expert fighters in mountainous terrains where the [[Phalanx formation|phalanx]] was impracticable. Being the elite unit of the light infantry, they often formated with the [[hypaspists]] battalion and the companion cavalry at the right wing of the army. |
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Revision as of 03:14, 14 May 2009
The Agrianians (Ancient Greek: Ἀγρίανες[1], Agrianes) a Paionian[2] tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day Pčinja District[3][4][5] of southern Serbia, north of the Thracian Maedi tribe in Macedonia and Thrace (Administered by Pella, Agrianes territory was not part of Thrace[6]). They were crack javelin throwers and the elite unit of Alexander the Great's light infantry, who fought under the command of General Attalus.
They travelled light, carried a bundle of javelins into battle and wore no armor or helmets, perhaps not even shields[7]. Alexander made heavy use of them every time he dispatched a flying column, the Agrianians were always included. They were expert fighters in mountainous terrains where the phalanx was impracticable. Being the elite unit of the light infantry, they often formated with the hypaspists battalion and the companion cavalry at the right wing of the army.
They were first mentioned in 511 BC[8]. In 429 BC they were subject to the Odrysian kingdom[9]. They may have founded the alliance with Philip of Macedonia as early as 352 BC.[10]
Battle History
At the Battle of Gaugamela their numerical strength was 1000. They fought under king Langarus with the Macedonians against the Triballians in 335 BC[11] and succeeded in protecting the lands of Alexander and were thus rewarded with a native leadership (The lands of the Agrianes was not governed directly by Macedonia) and a long-lasting and most reliable alliance. The Agrianes together with the Penestae tribe, numbering 800 and 2,000, guarded the city of Cassandreia[12]. During the time of the Seleucid Empire, a crack unit of Alexander's Agrianes were brigaded together with Persians at Raphia.
Origin
The ethnonym is clearly of Greek origin (Gr. Agrios, -anes). They are today, together with the neighbouring Paleo-Balkan tribes a fraction in the Slavic peoples (Serbs, Bulgarians, Macedonians)[13].
References
- ^ http://www.trismegistos.org/geo/detail.php?i=7&tm=70
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=GJYUXRosRIMC&pg=PA130&dq=agrianes
- ^ "...The Agrianes once dwelled in the area of lower eastern Serbia..." Illyricum Province
- ^ "...Other tribes linked within the Paeonians were the Agrianians to the north in southern Serbia"Thracian tribes
- ^ http://www.soros.org.mk/archive/G01/images/sg0106.jpg
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=qpb3JdwuDQIC&pg=PA39&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=3
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=b5MrAAAAYAAJ&q=agrianes&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=IxcbFC-0cPwC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=agrianes+yugoslavia&source=bl&ots=1IdQwmyqv4&sig=Dc1Y1uT5g7A7ysNRJuEOm0DyVro&hl=sv&ei=CocLSoyvN8X0_AaLuISXBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=ZFe95Da5phQC&q=agrianes&dq=agrianes&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=9AMdAAAAYAAJ&q=agrianians&dq=agrianians&lr=&as_brr=0&pgis=1
- ^ Darko Gavrovski “ТЕТОVO ANTIQUITIES - Polog valley from Prehistory to 7th century AD, with special emphasis on the Tetovo region”, Tetovo, 2009, edited by author Darko Gavrovski.
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=M5re5ebNkXUC&pg=RA1-PA128&dq=agrianes#PRA1-PA129,M1
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=IxcbFC-0cPwC&pg=PA52&lpg=PA52&dq=agrianes+yugoslavia&source=bl&ots=1IdQwmyqv4&sig=Dc1Y1uT5g7A7ysNRJuEOm0DyVro&hl=sv&ei=CocLSoyvN8X0_AaLuISXBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8
See also
External links
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