Twilight of the Hellenistic World by Mike Roberts

Author:Mike Roberts [Mike Roberts]
Language: eng
Format: epub

Plan 6: The Battle of Raphia, 217 BC, initial dispositions.

Dust from the parched earth must have been thrown up in an extraordinary manner as these huge mobs of men and herds of animals manoeuvred into their proper positions. Antiochus would still have been taking stock of the fact that his enemy could bring such numbers into contention; Sosibius and his administration had done a good job of hiding their preparations. The Seleucid king would have had much to brood over the night before; this was the biggest army he had ever commanded and it represented the whole military might of his kingdom. Yet, his spies had reported that Ptolemy’s phalanx strongly outnumbered his own, and even in cavalry, where he might have hoped to have an edge, he now heard that he only had parity. The terrain offered little in terms of opportunity, and many of his men were not of a quality that promised much. There were Arabs, Carmanians, Cadusians, Dahae, and Cilicians in his array, and he did not know how they would perform. In weaponry, most of these were at a disadvantage against the heavy infantry phalangites, where the Lagids were strong. They were good in the skirmish, fine in a hillside ambuscade, but how these lightly protected javelineers, bowmen and slingers would function in the coming day was very much open to question.

The fundamentals of Antiochus’ battle plan was based on an infantry phalanx and a tradition that went back to the fights of Classical Greece, but it was also influenced by developments in the more recent affrays of the great Macedonian kings. He would exploit what he still considered his more gifted mounted arsenal of both horsemen and elephants. His big beasts were taller and bulkier than the African elephants, and they supported an extra soldier in their turrets in contrast to the two their opponents carried. He could expect them to overcome their counterparts, and then with his heavy companions and bodyguard horsemen, he intended to make his right flank the place of decision. This would be a classic encounter reminiscent of Paraetacene, Gabene and Ipsus, but what no one knew beforehand was what tactics, accidents and subtle ploys might make the decisive difference in this epic encounter.

On both sides, accompanying these mixed hoards, there were interpreters and priests who catered to the different gods of diverse nations. Religious ritual would have been undertaken by both the young kings in preparation for this set piece, where no elements would be missed that might make a difference to the outcome. Each side doled out words of encouragement, but our source specifies that, as both kings were too inexperienced to mention their own achievements, they concentrated on those of their antecedents and the prospects of rewards for bravery. The deployment of great blocks of pikemen and long lines of cavalry would have taken a good part of the fighting day, and it would have been many hours after dawn that the ranks finally established themselves into the array that the high commands had decided upon.

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