The Trojan Battle Order or Trojan Catalogue is a section of the second book of the Iliad

Iliad

The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...

listing the allied contingents that fought for Troy

Troy

Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...

 in the Trojan War

Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...

. The catalogue is noted for its deficit of detail compared to the immediately preceding Catalogue of Ships

Catalogue of Ships

The Catalogue of Ships is a passage in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad , which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy...

, which lists the Greek contingents, and for the fact that only a few of the many Trojans mentioned in the Iliad appear there.

Historicity question

Structurally the Trojan Battle Order is evidently inserted to balance the preceding Catalogue of Ships

Catalogue of Ships

The Catalogue of Ships is a passage in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad , which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy...

. It is, however, much shorter. Denys Page

Denys Page

Sir Denys Lionel Page was a British classical scholar at Oxford and Cambridge.-Early life:Born at Reading, Page was the son of Frederick Harold Dunn Page, a chartered civil engineer of the Great Western Railway, and his wife Elsie Daniels. He was educated at St...

 summarizes the prevailing explanation that "the Catalogues are substantially Mycenaean

Mycenaean Greece

Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...

 compositions rather expanded than altered by the Ionians

Ionians

The Ionians were one of the four major tribes into which the Classical Greeks considered the population of Hellenes to have been divided...

" . Noting that the Greek catalogue occupies 265 lines but the Trojan catalogue only 61, Page wonders why the Ionian authors know so little about their native land and concludes they are not describing it but are reforming poetry inherited in oral form from Mycenaean times .

Some examples of Mycenaean knowledge are :

• Alybe in the catalog is the birthplace of silver, yet Hecataeus, the Ionian geographer, does not know where it is.
• The catalog mentions Mount Phthires near Miletus
  Miletus
  Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria...
  
   and the Maeander. Hecataeus supposes it was the prior name of Latmus
  Latmus
  Beşparmak Mountains is a ridge of many spurs running in an east-west direction along the north shore of the former Latmian Gulf on the coast of Caria, which became part of Hellenised Ionia. The city of Latmus, located on the south slopes of Mount Latmus east of Miletus, was originally a port on...
  
  .

There is also some internal evidence that the Trojan catalogue was not part of the Iliad but was a distinct composition pre-dating the Trojan War and incorporated later into the Iliad :

• Of the 26 Trojans in the catalog, only 5 appear among the 216 in the Iliad.
• The major Trojan leaders: Priam, Paris, Helenus and a few others do not appear in the catalog at all.
• At Il. 2.858 the Mysians are commanded by Chromis
  Chromis
  Chromis is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. While the term Damselfish describes a group of marine fish larger than just one genus, most damselfish are in the genus Chromis...
  
   and Ennomos
  Ennomos
  Ennomos is a genus of moth in the family Geometridae.-Species:* Ennomos alniarius – Canary-shouldered Thorn* Ennomos autumnarius – Large Thorn* Ennomos effractaria...
  
  ; at 14.511 ff. by Gyrtios.
• At 2.858 the Mysians live in Asia Minor; at 13.5, Thrace.
• At. 2.827 Apollo gives Pandaros his bow; at 4.105 ff it is made by a craftsman.

Page cites several more subtle instances of the disconnectedness of the Trojan catalog from the Iliad; neither is it connected to the catalog of Greek forces. Another like it appears in the Cypria .

The catalogue in detail

The catalogue lists sixteen contingents from twelve different ethnonym

Ethnonym

An ethnonym is the name applied to a given ethnic group. Ethnonyms can be divided into two categories: exonyms and autonyms or endonyms .As an example, the ethnonym for...

s under 26 leaders . They lived in 33 places identified by toponyms

Toponymy

Toponymy is the scientific study of place names , their origins, meanings, use and typology. The word "toponymy" is derived from the Greek words tópos and ónoma . Toponymy is itself a branch of onomastics, the study of names of all kinds...

.

Tabular Catalog

Line	Ethnic Identity	Leaders	Settlements
II.815	Trojans Troy Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...	Hector Hector In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...	None stated (Troy Troy Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida... )
II.819	Dardan Dardan The terms Dardanoi , - its anglicized modern terms being Dardanians or Dardans & Dardan - in classical writings were synonymous with the term Trojan, the Dardanoi being Trojans themselves, an ancient people of the Troad, located in northwestern Anatolia. The Dardanoi derived their name from... ians	Aeneas Aeneas Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of... , Archelochus Archelochus In the Iliad, Archelochus was a son of Antenor and along with his brother Acamas and Aeneas, shared the command of the Dardans fighting on the side of the Trojans. When the Trojan army was broken up into five divisions Archelochus was one of the three leaders of his division along with the other... , Acamas Acamas Acamas was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer....	None stated.
II.824	Trojans Troy Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...  of Mt. Ida	Pandarus Pandarus Pandarus is a Trojan aristocrat who appears in stories about the Trojan War. In Homer's Iliad he is portrayed as an energetic and impetuous warrior, but in medieval literature he becomes a witty and licentious figure who facilitates the affair between Troilus and Cressida...	Zeleia Zeleia Zeleia is the name of an ancient town or city, according to the Iliad, which was allied to Troy. It appears to have been located in the Troad and to have been inhabited by Trojans. Says Homer: "They who lived in Zeleia below the foot of Mount Ida, who drank the dark water of Aesepus, Trojans."...
II.828	No name given.	Adrestus, Amphius	Adresteia, Apaesus, Pityeia, Mt. Tereia
II.835	No name given.	Asius Asius Asius or Asios may refer to:* Asius Hyrtacides son of Hyrtacus.* Asius .* Asius of Samos, an ancient Greek genealogical poet.* Asius , a genus of gelinine wasps.* an Osian* 11554 Asios, an asteroid...	Percote Percote Percote was a town or city on the southern side of the Hellespont, to the northeast of Troy. Percote is mentioned a few times in Greek mythology, where it plays a very minor role each time. It was said to be the home of a notable seer named Merops, also its ruler... , Practius, Sestus Sestos 200px|200px|thumb|The Ancient Map of Gallipoli PeninsulaSestos was an ancient Greek town of the Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey. Situated on the Hellespont opposite Abydos, it was the home of Hero in the legend of Hero and Leander, where according to legend... , Abydus Abydos, Hellespont For other uses, see Abydos Abydos , an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated at Nara Burnu or Nagara Point on the best harbor on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. Across Abydos lies Sestus on the European side marking the shortest point in the Dardanelles, scarcely a mile broad... , Arisbe Arisbe Arisbe may refer to:* Another name for Batea , a person in Greek mythology* Arisbe , an early wife of King Priam of Troy, also daughter of the seer Merops of Percote...
II.840	Pelasgians Pelasgians The name Pelasgians was used by some ancient Greek writers to refer to populations that were either the ancestors of the Greeks or who preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world." In general, "Pelasgian" has come... , who were spearmen	Hippothous Hippothous In Greek mythology Hippothous is the name of seven men.1. Hippothous son of Cercyon. He was one of the hunters of the Calydonian Boar. He later inherited the kingdom of Arcadia when king Agapenor did not return from the Trojan War. His successor was his son, Aepytus.2. Hippothous, son of Lethus... , Pylaeus	Larisa Larisa (Troad) Larisa was a Greek city in the south-west of the Troad region of Anatolia. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek as the...
II.844	Thracians 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...  bounded by the Hellespont	Acamas Acamas Acamas was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer.... , Peiroüs	None stated.
II.846	Ciconians, who were spearmen	Euphemus Euphemus Euphemus in Greek mythology was a son of Poseidon, an Argonaut connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene.Euphemus is also a character mentioned in in Book II of the Iliad.- Greek mythology :...	None stated.
II.848	Paeonians, archers, "from far away"	Pyraechmes Pyraechmes Pyraechmes was, along with Asteropaeus, a leader of the Paeonians in the Trojan War. He came from the city of Amydon. Although Homer mentions Pyraechmes as the leader of the Paeonians early on in the Iliad, in the Trojan Catalogue, Pyraechmes plays a minor role compared to the more illustrious...  (Asteropaios Asteropaios In the Iliad, Asteropaios was a leader of the Trojan-allied Paeonians along with fellow warrior Pyraechmes. Asteropaios was the son of Pelagon, who was the son of the river god Axios and the mortal woman Periboia, daughter of Akessamenos...  is also recognized as a leader in book XXI)	Amydon Amydon Amydon was the Homeric capital of the Paeonians in the lower Axios region of Amphaxitis. The exact location seems to have been unknown in historical times. According to Strabo, Amydon was later called Abydon but it was destroyed.-References:*Iliad B 1031... , river Axius Vardar The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
II.851	Paphlagonians	Pylaemenes Pylaemenes In Greek mythology, Pylaemenes was the king of the Eneti tribe of Paphlagonia. He claimed to be related to Priam through Phineus, as the latter's daughter Olizone was married to Dardanus. He led his Paphlagonian forces to the Trojan War, as a Trojan ally. Pylaemenes was killed in battle by...  of the Eneti Eneti Eneti or Heneti or Enete is the name of an ancient region close to Paphlagonia mentioned by Strabo whose original inhabitants had disappeared by his time....	Cytorus Cytorus Cytorus is a genus of moth in the family Arctiidae.-References:*... , Sesamus, along the river Parthenius Bartin River Bartın River , is a small river in east of Black Sea Region of Turkey. Its source is Ilgaz Mountains, in Kastamonu Province and Karabük Province, it flows to the north, passes through in Bartın and empties into the Black Sea near Boğaz village in a delta.The last 14 kilometers on the Bartın River,... , Cromna, Aegialus, Erythini
II.856	Halizones Halizones The Halizones are an obscure people that appear in Homer's Iliad as allies of Troy during the Trojan War. Their leaders were Odius and Epistrophus, said by Apollodorus to be sons of a man named Mecisteus...  "from far away"	Odius, Epistrophus Epistrophus In the Iliad, Epistrophus was the son of Iphitus and brother of Schedius. Together with his brother he led the Phocians on the side of the Achaeans in the Trojan War....	Alybe
II.858	Mysians Mysians Mysians were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor.-Origins according to ancient authors:Their first mention is by Homer, in his list of Trojans allies in the Iliad, and according to whom the Mysians fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy, under the command of Chromis...	Chromis Chromis Chromis is a genus of fish in the family Pomacentridae. While the term Damselfish describes a group of marine fish larger than just one genus, most damselfish are in the genus Chromis... , Ennomus Ennomus In Greek mythology, Ennomus was the name of two defenders of Troy during the Trojan War:* Ennomus, son of Arsinous. He was a Mysian ally of the Trojans, and was killed by Achilles. He was also said to have been a seer....	None stated.
II.862	Phrygians	Phorcys Phorcys (Trojan War) In Greek mythology, Phorcys was a Phrygian ally of King Priam in the Trojan War. Phorcys appears in The Iliad as the leader of the Phrygians, a son of Phaenops. Apollodorus, however, refers to him as a son of Aretaon and brother of Ascanius, another Phrygian leader. Phorcys is mentioned among the... , Ascanius	"Far-off" Ascania
II.864	Maeonians	Mesthles, Antiphus Antiphus In Greek mythology, Antiphus or Ántiphos is a name attributed to multiple individuals:*Antiphus, one of the 50 sons of Priam, and son of Hecuba. During the Trojan War, he was killed by Agamemnon....	Under Mt. Tmolus Tmolus Tmolus was a King of Lydia and husband to Omphale. He is the eponymous namesake of Mount Tmolus , which lies in Lydia with the Lydian capital at its foot and Hypaepa on its southern slope...
II.867	Carians Carians The Carians were the ancient inhabitants of Caria in southwest Anatolia.-Historical accounts:It is not clear when the Carians enter into history. The definition is dependent on corresponding Caria and the Carians to the "Karkiya" or "Karkisa" mentioned in the Hittite records...	Nastes, Amphimachus Amphimachus In Greek mythology, Amphimachus is a name attributed to multiple individuals.-Son of Cteatus:Amphimachus was the son of Cteatus and Theronice, daughter of Dexamenus. He was one of the leaders of the Elean contingent at the Trojan War and was slain by Hector.-Son of Nomion:Amphimachus was the son...	Miletus Miletus Miletus was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria... , Mt. Phthires Latmus Beşparmak Mountains is a ridge of many spurs running in an east-west direction along the north shore of the former Latmian Gulf on the coast of Caria, which became part of Hellenised Ionia. The city of Latmus, located on the south slopes of Mount Latmus east of Miletus, was originally a port on... , streams of the Maeander, crest of Mycale Mycale Mycale, also Mykale and Mycali , called Samsun Daği and Dilek Daği in modern Turkey, is a mountain on the west coast of central Anatolia in Turkey, north of the mouth of the Maeander and divided from the Greek island of Samos by the 1300 metre wide Samos Strait...
II.875	Lycians Lycians -Historical accounts:According to Herodotus, the Lycians originally came from Crete and were the followers of Sarpedon. They were expelled by Minos and ultimately settled in territories belonging to the Solymoi of Milyas in Asia Minor. The Lycians were originally known as Termilae before being...  "from far away"	Sarpedon Sarpedon In Greek mythology, Sarpedon referred to at least three different people.-Son of Zeus and Europa:The first Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother to Minos and Rhadamanthys. He was raised by the king Asterion and then, banished by Minos, his rival in love for the young Miletus, he... , Glaucus Glaucus (soldier) Glaucus was a son of Hippolochus and a grandson of Bellerophon. He was a captain in the Lycian army under the command of his close friend and cousin Sarpedon. The Lycians in the Trojan War were allies of Troy...	River Xanthus Xanthus Xanthus may refer to:In Greek mythology:*Divine**Xanthus, the gods' name for Scamander, the great river of Troy and its patron god**Xanthus, one of the twelve sons of Pan who were allied with Dionysus*Human...

Analyses

The list includes the Trojans themselves, led by Hector

Hector

In Greek mythology, Hectōr , or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter for Troy in the Trojan War. As the first-born son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy, he was a prince of the royal house and the...

, and various allies. As observed by G. S. Kirk, it follows a geographical pattern comparable to that of the Greek catalogue, dealing first with Troy, then with the Troad, then radiating outwards on four successive routes, the most distant peoples on each route being described as "from far away".. The allied contingents are said to have spoken multiple languages, requiring orders to be translated by their individual commanders. Nothing is said of the Trojan language

Trojan language

The language spoken by the Trojans in the Iliad is Homeric Greek.However, there has been some scholarly debate on what language the historical Trojans would have spoken at the time of the Trojan War....

; the Carians are specifically said to be barbarian-speaking

Carian language

The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwian subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, by the Carians, a name possibly first mentioned in...

, possibly because their language was distinct from the contemporaneous lingua franca of western Anatolia.

The classical Greek historian Demetrius of Scepsis

Demetrius of Scepsis

Demetrius of Scepsis was a Greek grammarian of the time of Aristarchus and Crates . He was a man of good family and an acute philologer . He was the author of a very extensive work which is very often referred to, and bore the title Τρωικὸς διάκοσμος. It consisted of at least twenty-six books...

, native of Scepsis in the hills above Troy, wrote a vast study of the "Trojan Battle Order" under that title (Greek Trōikos diakosmos). The work is lost; brief extracts from it are quoted by Athenaeus

Athenaeus

Athenaeus , of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD...

 and Pausanias

Pausanias (geographer)

Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...

, while Strabo cites it frequently in his own discussion of the geography of northwestern Anatolia.