Persian Invasion of 480 BC - articles

[hoplite14gr]

The Persian empire could hire infantry in a mannner similar to the Roman foideratoi of the later times.
Pissidians, Lykians, Carians. Paflagonians and other hillmen could be induced to serve for pay or for loot. Persians made use of subject infantry levies also. So it was not entirely cavalry force. You need infantry to hold and occupy ground.
As for supplies most people think only of grain.
But Balkan farners knew that a pork meat in clay pot preserved with salt and its own fat could last up to a year. Causettes stuffed with carrot purret for example, closed in a clay pot in oil can also stay up to a year. I am sure that Asian farmers had their similar ways of food storage too. The biggest problem would be men dying from scurvy, from the preserved foof they were forced to eat. Also Persians and other civilized Asiatic continents would abide by some hygiene standarts but the multitude of barbarians part of the Persian army probaly wouldn´t.
The average Greek comonwealth could raise 10000 hoplites and probably an equivalent number of lighter troops. Diplomatic tradition and info collection was organized in the Mediteranean from the Bronze age.
I cannot belive that the High King's delegates failed to inform him of peoples, places and resources. If the Greeks could raise 100.000 troops in a last ditch defence then at least double that number would be required for an attacker.

Kind regards