Immortals (Achaemenid Empire)
The Achaemenid Persian Immortals, also known as the Persian Immortals or The Immortals were an elite force of soldiers which performed the dual roles of both Imperial Guard and standing army during the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus describes the Immortals as being heavy infantry led by Hydarnes that were kept constantly at a strength of exactly 10,000 men — every killed, seriously wounded or sick member was immediately replaced with a new one, maintaining the cohesion of the unit.[1] The regiment accepted only Median, Elamite or Persian applicants (Herodotus).
Terminology
The term Immortals comes from Herodotus who called them either the Ten Thousand or Athanatoi (lit. immortals). There are no other sources and the Persians themselves have no record of such a unit.
Herodotus' source may have confused the name Anûšiya (companions) with Anauša (Immortals). Alexander the Great's historians mention a Persian unit similar to Herodotus' Immortals that they called 'Apple Bearers'.[1]
Equipment and Training
The Immortals were equipped with a leather and wicker shield, a short spear with an iron point and a counterbalance on the other end, a bow with cane arrows, a quiver for them and a dagger or short sword. The regiment's clothing was not a uniform in the modern sense but consisted of a fairly standardised tiara or soft felt cap, an embroidered long-sleeved tunic, trousers, and a coat of metal. Their usual tactics involved a front rank charge at the enemy while the rear ranks shot arrows to support the assault.
The Immortals had variegated costumes and acted as the Imperial Guards. "Of these one thousand carried spears with golden pomegranate at the lower end instead of spikes; and these encircled the other nine thousand, who bore on their spears pomegranates of silver."
The regiment was followed by a caravan of covered carriages, camels and mules that transported their women and servants. The Immortals received special food.[1]
The Immortals were trained from childhood how to handle their weapons, how to march, how to dress, and more. The training was rigorous and group selective. Immortals were required to be of Persian bloodlines, a good shot with a bow, and able to ride well. Later in time, a strict adherence to the religion of the prophet Zarathustra and his teachings, or "truth" as the Persians called it, was required.
The Immortals in History
The Immortals played an important part in Cyrus the Great's conquest of the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 547 BC, Cambyses' campaign against Egypt in 525 BC and Darius' invasion of India and Scythia in 520 BC and 513 BC. Immortals participated in the Battle of Marathon 490 BC and the Battle of Thermopylae 480 BC[2] and were in the Persian occupation troops in Greece in 479 BC under Mardonius. Alexander the Great defeated them in the Battle of Issus in 333 BC.
Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC)
In the year 480 BC, the Persian army fought against the outnumbered Spartan and Greek forces at the Pass of Thermopylae. After many failed attempts to destroy the Spartans, Xerxes I decided to commit his Immortals to the attack, and still Xerxes' forces were held back and unable to break the phalanx wall. The battle only ended after the Spartans had been flanked through a passage through the mountains.
Successors
The title of "Immortals" was first revived under the Sassanids. The most famous of the Savaran units were the Zhayedan (Immortals) and numbered 10,000 men, like the Achaemenid predecessors, with the difference that they were cavalry. Their task was mainly to secure any breakthroughs and to enter battles at crucial stages.
The title of "Immortals" was again revived under the Byzantine Empire, under the Emperor Michael VII (1071–1081). His general Nikephoros reorganised the central field army ("Tagmata") of the Eastern Empire following the disastrous defeat of Manzikert by the Turks in 1071. The remnants of the provincial troops of the Eastern Themes (military provinces) were brought together in a new Imperial Guard regiment named after the Persian Immortals and reportedly also numbering about 10,000 men. These were however cavalry, like the remainder of the Byzantine field army.
Many centuries later during the Napoleonic Wars/Wars of the Coalitions, French soldiers referred to Napoleon's Imperial Guard as "the Immortals."[3]
The modern Iranian Army under the last Shah included an all volunteer Javedan Guard, also known as the "Immortals" after the ancient Persian royal guard. The "Immortals" were based in the Lavizan Barracks in Tehran. By 1978 this elite force comprised a brigade of 4,000–5,000 men, including a battalion of Chieftain tanks. Following the overthrow of the Imperial regime in 1979 the "Immortals" were disbanded.
The Immortals in fiction
- Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, turned into a motion picture in 2007, presents a heavily fictionalized version of the Immortals at the Battle of Thermopylae. The film illustrated these guards covered fully in black, with masks covering their frightening faces, which was strongly criticised by numerous historians from around the globe. The 1962 film The 300 Spartans includes similar depictions, although far less stylized.
- Many historical strategy videogames featuring the Persian Empire (such as Civilization, Rise of Nations and the Age of Empires series) contain Immortals as a special unit.
- In the video game Final Fantasy XI, the bodyguards of the Empress of Aht Urgan are an army of Blue Mages known as the Immortals.
- The Drenai series, written by David Gemmell, features a military unit named the Immortals. Similar to the Persian Immortals, its number is maintained at a constant 10,000 soldiers.
- In the tabletop miniatures war game Warhammer 40,000, Immortals are one of the elite troop types of the race of alien androids known as the Necrons. They are similar to normal Necron warriors, but are significantly tougher and more heavily armed. They also appear in the videogame Dawn of War: Dark Crusade where they instead fill the role of anti-vehicle troops.
- A new Protoss armored ground unit in Starcraft II also bears the name.
References
- ^ a b c 'Immortals' by Jona Lendering. Livius: Articles on ancient History. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ Thermopylae (480 BCE) by Jona Lendering. Copyright 2005. Latest revision: 11 March 2007. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ Georges Blond, La Grande Armée, trans. Marshall May (New York: Arms and Armor, 1997), 48, 103, 470