On the Presence of "Immortals" in the Persian Army during the Time of Darius III
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52575/2687-0967-2026-53-2-267-274Keywords:
Persia, Achaemenids, Darius III, Curtius Rufus, Herodotus, Xenophon, ImmortalsAbstract
The article is focused on the problem of the reliability of information about the presence of an elite unit of the Immortals in the army of Darius III. It has been determined that the only direct indication of the presence of these forces in the Persian army during the Macedonian conquests was given by Curtius Rufus. This fragment has clear signs of relying on the work by Herodotus. Historiography has concluded that the Immortals are identical to the detachment of Apple Bearers who actually performed the functions of the royal guard during the time of the late Achaemenids. The results of a comparative analysis of information from ancient sources show that these conclusions are poorly substantiated. The testimony of Curtius Rufus, not confirmed by other sources, may be considered to be the result of purely literary borrowing that does not refer to Persian military practice during the reign of Darius III.
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Список литературы
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Charles M.B. 2023. Apple Bearers and Kinsmen Cavalry: Guard Units of the Kings of Achaemenid Persia. In: Brill’s Companion to Bodyguards in the Ancient Mediterranean. Leiden; Boston, Brill: 81–101.
Charles M.B. 2011. Immortals and Apple Bearers: toward a Better Understanding of Achaemenid Infantry Units. Classical Quarterly 61/1: 114–133.
Charles M.B. 2021. The Royal Elite of the Achaemenid Army. In: A Companion to Greek Warfare. Hoboken, Wiley-Blackwell: 173–184.
Collins A.W. 2001. The Office of Chiliarch under Alexander and the Successors. Phoenix 55/ 3–4: 259–283.
Daryaee T. 2021. Männerbund Aspects of Old Persian Anušiya. In: Achemenet. Vingt ans après. Études offertes à Pierre Briant à l’occasion des vingt ans du Programme Achemenet. Leuven; Paris; Bristol, Peeters: 73–78.
English S. 2011. The Field Campaigns of Alexander the Great. Barnsley, Pen and Sword Military, 256 p.
Farrokh K. 2021. Xerxes’ Armed Engagements and Military Organization before the 480–479 BCE Invasion of Greece. Persian Heritage 101: 22–25.
Fields N. 2007. Thermopylae 480 BC: Last Stand of the 300. Oxford, Osprey, 96 p.
Frye R.N. 1983. The History of Ancient Iran. München, Beck, 411 p.
Hammond N.G.L. 1993. Sources for Alexander the Great: An Analysis of Plutarch's Life and Arrian's Anabasis Alexandrou. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 345 p.
Hammond N.G.L. 1983. Three Historians of Alexander the Great: The So-Called Vulgate Authors, Diodorus, Justin and Curtius. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 205 p.
Hassan C. 2021. Structure of the Army and Logistics. In: A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Vol. 2. Hoboken, Wiley-Blackwell: 1151–1159.
Head D. 1992. The Achaemenid Persian Army. Stockport, Montvert Publications, 64 p.
Heckel W. 1994. Notes on Q. Curtius Rufus’ History of Alexander. Acta Classica 37: 67–78.
Holland T. 2006. Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West. London, Abacus, 448 p.
Holt F. 2016. The Treasures of Alexander the Great: How One Man’s Wealth Shaped the World. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 295 p.
How W.W., Wells J. 1912. A Commentary on Herodotus. Vol. II. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 682 p.
Hyland J. 2025. The Achaemenid Military System and Its Campaign Logistics. In: Brill’s Companion to War in the Ancient Iranian Empires. Leiden; Boston, Brill: 157–186.
Llewellyn-Jones L. 2013. King and Court in Ancient Persia 559 to 331 BCE. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 272 p.
Marsden E.W. 1964. The Campaign of Gaugamela. Liverpool, Liverpool University Press, 79 p.
Maurice F. 1930. The Size of the Army of Xerxes in the Invasion of Greece 480 BC. Journal of Hellenic Studies 50: 210–235.
Meeus A. 2009. Some Institutional Problems concerning the Succession to Alexander the Great: Prostasia and Chiliarchy. Historia 58/ 3: 287–310.
Pagliaro A. 1954. Reflessi di etimologie iraniche nella tradizione storiografica greca. Rendiconti dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di Scienze morali, storiche e filologiche. Serie VIII 9: 133–153.
Pearson L. 1960. The Lost Histories of Alexander the Great. New York, American Philological Association, 275 p.
Pelling C. 2000. Fun with Fragments: Athenaeus and the Historians. In: Athenaeus and His World: Reading Greek Culture in the Roman Empire. Exeter, University of Exeter Press: 171–190.
Rope J. 2025. The Persian Way of War: Infantry Tactics in the Achaemenid Empire. In: Brill’s Companion to War in the Ancient Iranian Empires. Leiden; Boston, Brill: 187–218.
Sekunda N. 1992. The Persian Army 560–330 BC. Oxford, Osprey, 64 p.
Tallis N. 2005. Transport and Warfare. In: Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. London, The British Museum Press: 210–235.
Tatum J. 1989. Xenophon’s Imperial Fiction: On the Education of Cyrus. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 328 p.
Tamiolaki M. 2016. Xenophon’s Cyropaedia: Tentative Answers to an Enigma. In: The Cambridge Companion to Xenophon. Cambridge; New York, Cambridge University Press: 174–194.
Tuplin C. 2013. Xenophon’s Cyropaedia: Fictive History, Political Analysis and Thinking with Iranian Kings. In: Every Inch a King: Comparative Studies in Kings and Kingship in the Ancient and Mediaeval Worlds. Leiden; Boston, Brill: 67–90.
Tuplin C., Jacobs B. 2021. Military Organization and Equipment. In: A Companion to the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Vol. 2. Hoboken, Wiley-Blackwell: 1161–1181.
Wiesehöfer J. 1996. Ancient Persia: from 550 BC to 650 AD. London; New York, I.B. Tauris, 332 p.
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