It’s been a while since we last visited The
World of Killing the Hydra.
I’ve been caught up in writing posts about Herakles
and Jason and the Argonauts which, I’m happy to say, have been receiving a lot
of great feedback.
The myths have great appeal, so I can see
why those posts are so popular.
Today, in this third installment of The World
of Killing the Hydra, we’re going to look at a group of warriors who also have
ties to myth, and who, as a fighting force, became legendary in the Roman
world.
I want to talk about the Sarmatians.
In Killing
the Hydra, Lucius Metellus Anguis finds himself getting to know the men of
the cavalry ala of Sarmatians who have been sent to join the III Augustan
Legion at Lambaesis, in Numidia.
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| Artist impression of Sarmatian Cavalry |
The leader of this fighting force is Mar, a
king of his people who led them against Rome in the wars with Emperor Marcus
Aurelius. Mar is joined by his royal nephew, Dagon, and both men play a key
part in the story.
But who were the Sarmatians?
The average person has not heard about this
group of warriors that came to form the elite heavy cavalry of the Roman
Empire. Most people probably know of them only from the role they play in the
movie King Arthur, with Clive Owen.
Researching Sarmatian warrior culture was a
fascinating part of the research for Killing
the Hydra.
The Sarmatians were a Scythian-speaking
people from north of the Black Sea, and the high point of their civilization spanned
from the 5th B.C. to the 4th century A.D. when they
eventually went into decline because of pressure from the Huns and Goths.
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| Lance head of a Sarmatian 'contos', a 16 foot lance |
The Sarmatians were a nomadic Steppe
culture whose lands extended from the Black Sea to beyond the Volga in western
Scythia.
Herodotus believed the Sarmatians (or
‘Sauromatae’) were descended from intermarriage between Scythian men and Amazon
women, and that ever since the two peoples joined:
"the women of the Sauromatae have kept their old ways, riding to the hunt on horseback sometimes with, sometimes without, their men, taking part in war and wearing the same sort of clothes as men… They have a marriage law which forbids a girl to marry until she has killed an enemy in battle; some of their women, unable to fulfill this condition, grow old and die unmarried."
(Herodotus, The Histories, Book IV)
Indeed Sarmatian grave discoveries have
revealed armed women warriors, so it seems likely that such tales would easily have
given rise to the Greek perception that the Sarmatians were descended from the
Amazons, those beautiful and terrible daughters of Ares.
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| Amazons in Battle |
In Killing
the Hydra, Mar, in conversation with Lucius, relates to the young Roman how
the women of their people also fought:
"The women of our land are brave souls. We do not lock them up before the hearths of our homes. They are free to ride with us and wield the sacred sword. Some are priestesses and others have been gifted by our gods with foresight. Sarmatian women are nobler than what your Latin word 'noble' implies."
(Mar, in Killing the Hydra)
And what of the men? Sarmatian men were
fierce warriors and skilled horsemen, and according to the Roman writer Ammianus Marcellinus, they:
“...have very long
spears and cuirasses made from smooth and polished pieces of horn, fastened
like scales to linen shirts; most of their horses are made serviceable by
gelding, in order that they may not at sight of mares become excited and run
away, or when in ambush become unruly and betray their riders by loud neighing.
And they run over very great distances, pursuing others or themselves turning
their backs, being mounted on swift and obedient horses and leading one, or
sometimes even two, to the end that an exchange may keep up the strength of
their mounts and that their freshness may be renewed by alternate periods of
rest.” (Ammianus Marcelinus, Roman History, Book XVII)
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| Sarmatian Crown |
Sarmatian art and culture is also very rich.
Animal imagery was common in their artwork
and often included such totem animals as dragons, griffins, eagles, sphinxes,
snake women, and of course, horses. Often, these images were tattooed on their
bodies.
The characters of Mar and Dagon are
naturally curious about the dragon imagery on Lucius’ armour and weapons. They
see it as a sign.
Also, if you remember the Sibyl’s prophecy
from Children of Apollo, you will
know that Lucius’ meeting with the Sarmatians is no coincidence.
The Sarmatians take their gods very
seriously, but the one they most revered was their war god who was represented
by the Sacred Sword.
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| Sarmatian Warriors on Trajan's Column |
The Sarmatians’ favourite trial of strength
was single combat.
They believed that there was mystical power
in battle, and when they defeated their enemies, it’s said they often took the
heads, scalps, and beards of the vanquished, drinking blood from the skulls of
the slain.
Ancient cultures often did have what we
might perceive as barbaric rituals, but it’s sometimes difficult to detect
truth in the midst of Greek and Roman propaganda or storytelling.
The picture painted does make for a
wonderfully colourful group of warriors.
Despite the tales of fighting women, magic
swords, scalping, and the drinking of blood, there is one fact that remains
certain – the Sarmatians were some of the best cavalry the world had ever seen.
They were sometimes known as ‘lizard
people’ because of their scale armour which covered both the horse and rider
almost completely.
The Sarmatians were heavy cataphracts, the
shock troops that were used to ride down the enemy while wielding their long
swords, and the contos, a lance of
about five meters, or sixteen feet long.
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| Artist impression of a Draconarius carrying a Draco |
The image that the Sarmatians are probably
most known for, however, is the draconarius.
This was their war standard which they
carried into battle. It consisted of a bronze dragon’s head with a long wind
sock attached to it. It was held on a pole and carried at a gallop. When the
wind passed through the draco, it
made a loud howling sound that was to terrify the enemy.
The draco was adopted as a standard by all Roman cavalry in the 3rd century A.D.
It’s amazing that, as a highly disciplined
fighting force, the Sarmatians remained active for as long as nine centuries.
When Marcus Aurelius won a decisive victory
of the Sarmatians in A.D. 175, he obtained a force of heavy cavalry for Rome
that would make the auxiliary forces much more of a force to be reckoned with.
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| Coin of Marcus Aurelius showing Sarmatian captives |
As ever, the Romans knew a good thing when
they saw it.
In the aftermath of Rome’s victory, Marcus
Aurelius obtained 8000 heavy Sarmatian cataphracts which became the most
skilled cavalry of the age.
It is these warriors, descended from the
Amazons and mighty Scythians of the Steppes, who now step into The World of
Killing the Hydra.
Mar, Dagon, and their warriors turn the
tides of war against the nomads in Numidia, and become an important new force in the
life of Lucius Metellus Anguis.
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| Draco standard |
The Dragons are now in the thick of it with
the Eagles of Rome.
