Agrianes
Encyclopedia
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day Northeastern statistical region
Northeastern statistical region
The Northeastern Statistical Region is one of eight arbitrary statistical regions in the Republic of Macedonia. Northeastern, located in the northeastern part of the country, borders Serbia and Bulgaria...
of Republic Of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
and Pčinja District
Pcinja District
The Pčinja District expands to the southern parts of Serbia, bordering Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. Its seat is in the city of Vranje....
of southern Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, north of the Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
Maedi
Maedi
The Maedi , were a Thracian or Illyrian tribe, which in historic times, occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along the middle course of the Strymon, between the Kresna Gorge and the Rupel Pass...
tribe, who were situated in what is now the Greek region of Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and Western Thrace
Western Thrace
Western Thrace or simply Thrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
. In the times of Philip II, the territory of the Agrianes was administered by Pella.). They were crack javelin throwers and an elite unit of Alexander the Great's light infantry, who fought under the command of General Attalus
Attalus (general)
Attalus , important courtier of Macedonian king Philip II of Macedonia.In 339 BC, Attalus' niece Cleopatra Eurydice married king Philip II of Macedonia. In spring of 336 BC, Philip II appointed Attalus and Parmenion as commanders of the advance force that would invade the Persian Empire in Asia Minor...
.
They fought light, carried a bundle of javelins into battle and wore no armor or helmets, perhaps not even shields. Alexander made heavy use of them and every time he dispatched a flying column
Flying column
A flying column is a small, independent, military land unit capable of rapid mobility and usually composed of all arms. It is often an ad hoc unit, formed during the course of operations....
, the Agrianians were always included. They were expert fighters in mountainous terrains where the phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
was impracticable and mobile enough to use when speed was essential. Being an elite unit of the light infantry, they often formatted with the hypaspists
Hypaspists
A hypaspist is a squire, man at arms, or "shield carrier". In Homer, Deiphobos advances "ὑπασπίδια" or under cover of his shield. By the time of Herodotus the word had come to mean a high status soldier as is strongly suggested by Herodotus in one of the earliest known uses:"Now the horse which...
battalion and the companion cavalry at the right wing of the army.
They are first mentioned regarding the Megabazos' campaign in 511 BC. In 429 BC they were subject to the Odrysian kingdom
Odrysian kingdom
The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC. It consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Northern Dobruja, parts of Northern Greece and modern-day European Turkey...
and later, as early as 352 BC, they became allies of Philip of Macedonia .
Battle History
At the Battle of GaugamelaBattle of Gaugamela
The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.-Location:Darius chose a flat, open plain...
their numerical strength was 1000. They fought under king Langarus
Langarus
Langarus , king of the Agrianians, was a contemporary of Alexander the Great , with whom he ingratiated himself even before the death of Philip II, previous king of Macedon. He rendered Alexander important services shortly after his accession, in his expedition against the Illyrians and...
with the Macedonians
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians originated from inhabitants of the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, in the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios...
against the Triballians in 335 BC and succeeded in protecting the lands of Alexander and were thus rewarded with the right to govern themselves, a move that led to a long-lasting and most reliable alliance. During the time of the Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, a crack unit of Antiochus' Agrianes was brigaded together with Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
at Raphia. Contingents from the Agrianes and the Penestae
Penestae
The penestae were a class of unfree labourers tied to the land once inhabiting Thessaly, whose status was comparable to that of the Spartan helots.-Status:...
, numbering 800 and 2,000 men respectively, were a part of the garrison of Cassandreia
Cassandreia
Cassandrea, Cassandreia, or Cassandria was once one of the most important cities in Ancient Macedonia founded by and named after Cassander in 316 BC located on the site of the earlier Ancient Greek city of Potidaea...
at the time of the Third Macedonian War
Third Macedonian War
The Third Macedonian War was a war fought between Rome and King Perseus of Macedon. In 179 BC King Philip V of Macedon died and his talented and ambitious son, Perseus, took his throne. Perseus married Laodike, daughter of King Seleucus IV Keraunos of Asia, and increased the size of his army...
.