Herodian Army

[jbd_29349]

Forgive me if this topic has been done before but what little I found on the subject it didn't cover what I am looking for.

I am looking to improve upon the kits for the Herodian army at a church that we actively participate in around Christmas time. The unifroms they have now are pinkish tunics with dark brown cloth belt with cloth petruges. The weapons and armorment are only a spear about six feet long with a small leaf shape head.

What I know of clothing from this time period is Roman military, and provincial civilian. I do not have a copy of the Osprey series book on this subject and have read that is a very good read on the subject with accurate illustrations. I also heard of a book by Peter Connolly but have not been able to find that one at all.

My question is what would a typical soldier of Judeah look like during the time of Jesus? Would the dress be Roman, Persian, Greek? What type of weapons would he carry? What type of armor would he wear?

[Matthew Amt]

Ave!

Yes, you definitely want Connolly's book "The Holy Land", which I have under the older (rather snappy) title of "Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth". ISBN 0199105332. Amazon has it for about 15 bucks. The Osprey is useful, too, "Rome's Enemies 5: The Desert Frontier"--Aha, the Osprey Publishing entry has a link to Google Books, which includes my favorite plate (sicarius with little knife charging past a rather astounded palace guard!).

http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/R ... 1855321663

http://books.google.com/books?id=7mR8tK ... q=&f=false

Basically, yeah, go with a Roman-style tunic (i.e., huge square) with clavi, and a cloak with "notched gamma" designs near the corners. Jewish writings from that era confirm the use of both cloak and clavi. Skip the pteruges unless they are worn with armor! Oval shields like those used by auxiliaries, spears, lots of javelins, bows. Very little armor, not many swords, at a guess, but scale armor bits were found at Masada. And try to weed out all the "bathrobe with Arab headdress" stuff...

The palace guards were different, though, Hellenistic/Persian, with plenty of armor and all the fixin's.

That get you started? Good luck and Vale,

Matthew

[jbd_29349]

Thank you for the links to the books!

The tunics, is the debate for what color they were just as heated as the color debate for Roman military tunics? If so I will do my own research, but if not what information do we have on their tunics?

Footwear, the only depiction I have seen of a Herodian soldier wearing closed shoes is the link you gave me. The other illustrations show them either barefoot or simple sandals. Is this correct? Would the footwear have hobnails? I remember reading that the Jews could always tell when the Romans were around because of the hobnails and didn't know if that went for Herodian soldiers also.

The shields, you said they would be auxiliary size and shape sheilds, what type of design would be on the shield or do we know? Would they have a metal rim? Would they have a domed boss or a pointed boss like later Germanic tribes?

[Matthew Amt]

Thank you for the links to the books!

The tunics, is the debate for what color they were just as heated as the color debate for Roman military tunics? If so I will do my own research, but if not what information do we have on their tunics?

The tunics from the caves at En Gedi included a red one, plus several off-white and I believe at least one yellow. They all had clavi except for the boy's linen shirt.

Footwear, the only depiction I have seen of a Herodian soldier wearing closed shoes is the link you gave me. The other illustrations show them either barefoot or simple sandals. Is this correct? Would the footwear have hobnails? I remember reading that the Jews could always tell when the Romans were around because of the hobnails and didn't know if that went for Herodian soldiers also.

That temple guardsman is actually wearing bronze footguards! Might have sandals under those. Sandals are safe, and I think it's fine to skip the hobnails.

The shields, you said they would be auxiliary size and shape sheilds, what type of design would be on the shield or do we know? Would they have a metal rim? Would they have a domed boss or a pointed boss like later Germanic tribes?

All good questions! There's not much to go on. Bosses would be domes, or possibly the old-fashioned spine bosses (like the Numidian prince in the first color plate). Sure, rims could be metal or hide, same as anyone else was doing. Emblems, hoo, ya got me! Some of the simple designs from Trajan's Column could be used, anything that doesn't include blatant Romanisms like eagles or wreaths, maybe. There ought to be at least a little pictoral evidence from somewhere closer to Herodean Judea, I just can't put my finger on it. (Shield depictions, I mean, not human figures which were forbidden by Jewish law!)

Keep in mind that the Jews and most of their neighbors were all very warlike, and had been gobbling up Roman military fashions ever since Pompey kicked all kinds of local butt in his day. Before that, they'd all been Hellenistic, but then so had the Romans!

Vale,

Matthew

[jbd_29349]

How was the army itself made up? Slingers? Archers? Calvary? Light, heavy soldiers? What did they call their army? Legion, cohort, century, contabernium, legionaire?

You mentioned that they had little armor and scale armor was found at Masada, what type of armor was used? Would it be Roman chainmail, Greek linothroax, or their own creations?

The mentioned that the main weapon was the spear. What was the size and shape of the spear? Were the tips made of iron? Where the tips large like the Celtic style or were they small like the greek thrusting spears? You also mentioned that the sword was not a common weapon to be found, one question is why. The second question is what type of sword would they have carried? Was it the single edge Greek falcata, the Roman gladius, or one of their own creations? Were they even il-equiped as to carry fire hardened wooden clubs?

[Bellerophon]

Spangenhelm magazine has made a concept of a massada zealot:
http://www.stephane-lagrange.com/index. ... mitstart=3

Here's a bad scan of the scales I once took:


Eitherway Before the herodians we know they're army was made out of light skirmishers and slingers. Afterwards we know of heavy horse archers (as seen in that Osprey, there's also a very similar spangenhelm version) and hellenistic styled infantry. Probably the thyreos would have been popular as it was in the rest of the levant, probably in combination with spear, javelins and probably some macheiras as well. I remember something about an elite unit as well, but I have to look into that again as I'm not really sure anymore what they were called and what we actually know about them. Their main rivals were the nabataeans.

If you want some historical sources, I'm sure Josephus would be of help.

[Matthew Amt]

How was the army itself made up? Slingers? Archers? Calvary? Light, heavy soldiers? What did they call their army? Legion, cohort, century, contabernium, legionaire?

Steady, young Jedi, the master has very few solid answers for you! Sorry, I should have said that much of what I've got is educated guesses, or hazy remembered impressions from reading Josephus too long ago. I don't know anything for a fact about their organization, but my guess is that they used Greek terminology, since that was the common language in that part of the world. Probably their organization was roughly Hellenistic until the Romans brought their influence into the mix, so it's possible that by Herodian times it was a combination of Roman and Hellenistic organization, adjusted for local troop preferences. But that's all speculation on my part!

You mentioned that they had little armor and scale armor was found at Masada, what type of armor was used? Would it be Roman chainmail, Greek linothroax, or their own creations?

Again, speculation. It's my understanding that Jewish forces during the revolt of 66-70 were lightly armored, but you'd have to read Josephus to confirm that. Sure, they captured Roman gear from defeating Legio XII and a few garrisons, but that wouldn't equip even a tenth of their troops. However, since *most* ancient armies had armor for only a tenth of their men, that's not a huge disadvantage. Any armor they had would follow Roman or Hellenistic patterns, most likely, so mail, scale, and maybe quilted linothorax. Since the Roman lorica hamata WAS Hellenistic in form, there you go! Wish I could tell you anything about helmets, but I get real hazy after Alexander for things Eastern.

The mentioned that the main weapon was the spear. What was the size and shape of the spear? Were the tips made of iron? Where the tips large like the Celtic style or were they small like the greek thrusting spears?

The vast majority of spears on the planet were 7 to 8 feet long, about an inch in diameter, with iron points 6 to 9 inches long. That includes Celts, the honking big ones were not the rule. No reason to suspect the Jews came up with anything different.

You also mentioned that the sword was not a common weapon to be found, one question is why. The second question is what type of sword would they have carried? Was it the single edge Greek falcata, the Roman gladius, or one of their own creations?

Well, again, I was thinking mainly during the Revolt. Herodian forces could certainly have been better equipped. I honestly don't know what sorts of swords would have been common, though I'd guess a Hellenistic descendant of the Classical hoplite sword. ("Machaira" is simply Greek for "sword", remember!) The kopis or falcata is a possibility, but I don't think those were the most common type in any culture. And of course much depends on what sorts of troops they were--archers and javelin-chuckers often didn't have swords, since they weren't supposed to fight hand-to-hand.

Were they even il-equiped as to carry fire hardened wooden clubs?

Probably not, but check Josephus. It doesn't take much iron or time to make spear and javelin points. Certainly clubs work if they have to!

The Greek thureos and the Roman auxiliary clipeus had common evolution, which is why it seems logical for the Jews to be using the same sort of thing. If in doubt about emblems, simple, just go with solid colors! Then you only have to argue about uniformity, or lack thereof...

There *should* be more archeological evidence available, but darned if I can tell you where to find it! As well as ongoing digs in Jerusalem, several of the Jewish Revolt sites have been excavated at least in part. You'd think spearheads and arrowheads would be common finds, but no idea what's been found. Sorry!

Don't let me discourage you from asking questions, by the way! Just be prepared for an answer of, "Good question! Find out and let us know!"

Matthew

[jbd_29349]

Well, I got my copy of the Osprey series "The Army of Herod the Great". It wasn't a bad read but still left a lot in the open! They did say that the reason no accurate representation can be made is because no the second commandment which is to not make any graven image or idol. They said this went on during the entire time the second temple was up.

They did give very nice arguements about what they did wear. They pieced things together from neighboring countries and what they wore, what archeological evidence exists in Israel, and varies text. The armor for the heavy troops is a mixture of Roman and Macedonian/Greek. In one model a soldier wears lorica hamata with bronze connecting the doubler in front, a Boetian helmet, oval scutum, Greek style bronze greaves, caligae, and hasta.

While the heavy troops have a mixture of Greek and Roman styles, the light troops follow Greek styles of armor and weapons. The officers, not to mention King Herod, follow the Greek style.

They did not cover what the troops were actually called, they refered to them the same way Joesphus called them which was Greek military terms.

[Zenobia of Palmyra]

Herod's army had mercenaries from Thrace, Galatia, and maybe even Gaul and Germany. It also had a contingent of Jewish horsemen from Babylon, led by a man named Zamaris.

I've read that it was organized in the Greek way, and that most of the units were known by Greek names.

After the big Jewish revolts, most of Herod's units were turned into auxiliary brigades and sent far away so they couldn't support another uprising.

[recondicom]

The sail.
Many Herods in the timeline. After Actium 31BC Herod built the Sebastos port 21BC. Herod-Antipas sailed from Sebastos to Gaul with his armies prior to 66AD and before the revolt. It is possible that Herod the Great had Syrians under his command and that they were cavalry in his army but… a minority among all the legions. Originally, the Mithras cult was the religion of Syrian royals. In following the curse of history from this perspective one legion stands out: II Adiutrix which gets the credit of founding the Mithras Temple of Sebastos in Hadrian times… arguable with the Pegasus as the standard… same as IX Hispania. Mithraism gained with Quintus Petilius Cerialis and ceased to be a minority cult. And so… the first month in the Spanish language is enero… a common thing in Galba’s Rome… different from January; a sabine Janus which was dropped from the later Pantheon.
Salud.

[Theodosius the Great]

Yes, you definitely want Connolly's book "The Holy Land", which I have under the older (rather snappy) title of "Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth".
Basically, yeah, go with a Roman-style tunic (i.e., huge square) with clavi, and a cloak with "notched gamma" designs near the corners.

It's been suggested by Yigael Yadin that the gamma was only used by Jewish women while the men wore the notched stripe or band ("The Bar Cochva Caves" 1971, pg.66-85). The Dura fresco would seem to support that statement. One panel shows a woman (extreme left) with a gamma on the corner of her cloak while the man in the foreground has the notched bands on his sagum.

Connolly seems to accept this interpretation. In his book "The Holy Land" he depicts a Jewish man with a notched band above the hem of his cloak.

This gender specific use of the notched gamma/ stripe may have been strictly a Jewish practice at the time of Herod.

By the late empire this practice seems to have been forgotten since men appear wearing the gamma in artwork like the Annunciation mosaic from Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome (Angels in this case).

~Theo

[Maximio]

Annunciation mosaic[/url] from Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome (Angels in this case).

~Theo

Yadin's arguments derive from his discoveries at the caves near Ein Gedi which date to the last stand of Simon Bar Kokhba and his followers against Hadrian (may his bones rot). The various cloaks found there had a variety of notched bands and if you look at the various images on the walls of the Dura Europa Synagogue you can see several styles and colours. Obviously these two sets of examples are from later dates than the Herodian period but do give a hint to what may have been the style.
Don't forget though, if you are wearing a 4 cornered garment either as a cloak or belted tunic then it absolutly must have Tzitzit tied onto each corner. I suspect even gentile troops serving in Herods army would have been expected to wear them if in regular service as Herod would not wish to enrage the Priestly classes too much. As the period you are depicting is before the fall of the temple then Tekhelet die was also readily available and part of each Tzitzit would be made from thread of this colour (arguments rage about what this would be - I subscribe to a darkish blue). Don't worry about the knot system though - the elaborate process of producing a kosher knot used nowadays was a product of the later Rabbinic tradition. At Ein Gedi Yadin found an example of a partially completed Tzitzit which I have attached as a photo. There is also a simple line diagram showing how you can make the fringe.

[attachment=2146]Tzitzit.jpg[/attachment]

On the subject of weapons my interest is archery and there are numerous examples of arrows found both at Masada and Jerusalem relevant to your period. Large numbers of trilobe heads plus some wonderful Greek style heads that look very like later "swallow tail" arrows.

[attachment=2147]JudeanArrowheads.jpg[/attachment]

These are some I have made based on the collections found throughout Judea

1 is a delightfully minute trilobe found at Ein Gedi.
2 is one of Robert Wimmers Xanten heads but almost identical to the large numbers of trilobatae recovered at Masada
3 - 6 are from the collections discovered in Jerusalem dating to the seige and Temple destruction of 70CE (fewer trilobatae found but more of these "Greek" styles.

[Theodosius the Great]

Excellent post, Maximio. mile:

Oh yeah, I can see that the frescoes do indeed show Tzitzit. Neat...



And unless I'm mistaken the images seem to show that the notched band was worn on the "inside" of the cloak which seems counter-intuitive. So, other people would only notice it if you were approaching them?

Great work with your arrows. I wonder if there was a Herodian cohort made up entirely of archers.

Obviously these two sets of examples are from later dates than the Herodian period but do give a hint to what may have been the style.

I would think so. Formal dress tends to become traditional. If we look at 3rd century togas and compare them to the Republican era we see they're virtually identical. The modern tuxedo looks little different from a hundred years ago. Just the top hat is missing

~Theo

[Maximio]

Good point Theo, I've looked at all the photos I have of the Dura Europas Synagogue Frescos and wherever a cloak is worn the band does appear only as if worn on the inside. I suppose it is possible that this is an artistic error but that does seem unlikely. It would also imply that the bands on this period of cloaks were appplicae rather than woven into the fabric. This inside out appearance of the band is on both the cloaks worn like a modern day Tallit (prayer shawl) and those won in a toga like fashion.
However looking at the photos I have of both the Ein Gedi Tunicae and the mantles and one can clearly see that they are woven (as are the assorted rectangular weavers marks that Yadin includes). The bands would therefore have been visible on both sides of the garment. On the other hand the mantles with the "gamma pattern" which he describes as specifically worn by women all apear to be applied after the weaving process.
To further confound this if you look at the image below of a young boy depicted on a painted Egyptian Coffin of the Graeco Roman period and the notched band appears on the outside. Located as it is on region around the neck its similarity to the "atarah" (the neck band of a modern day tallit) is uncanny.


[attachment=2161]Atarah.jpg[/attachment]


Thank you re the arrow heads - given the relative proximity of Judea to both Syria and Parthia I am sure that the bow was a major aspect of the military formation of the region. Don't forget though that the tradition of the slingshot is steeped in Jewish history. Not least because of the young David but it was also weapon used by the Maccabees in their guerilla campaign against the Seleucid tyranny.

Ahh formal wear and Top hats. I'm not sure where you are from Theo but here in England in the 1920's and 30's it was traditional on Shabbat for men to attend the synagogue in formal evening wear and top hat. Two years ago my shul held the 75th anniversary of its founding and to mark it we held a celebratory service all wearing the garb of 75 years previously. An amazing sight, though in a way sadly due to the fact cameras are not permited on a Saturday it is a sight we will remember but never be able to share or look at.

[Maximio]

Ave!

Yes, you definitely want Connolly's book "The Holy Land", which I have under the older (rather snappy) title of "Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth". ISBN 0199105332. That get you started?

Matthew

Any readers of this post living in the UK may want to look at Amazon UK's site. I have just got a second hand copy of this book for under £3 including the postage. There are a number of copies available so get in there quickly.