28mm Achaemenid Persians : Scythed Chariots and Generals

My Commands and Colors army will need three generals and two units of chariots. The round bases with gold rims should set off the generals well on the tabletop.

The chariots from Old Glory are GREAT! I went for colorful, and these should pop on the table. I need to buy another bag of chariots for the second unit.

I only have light cavalry and light infantry of various types left to paint.
 

28mm Achaemenid Persians : Medium Cavalry

The Persian parade continues! These two units of medium cavalry bring my total to three, which is all I need to play the base Commands and Colors scenarios. I need six units for the epic scenarios, so I will likely add to these in the future.

I only have a few more Persian troop types before I can pivot to the Hellenes. I am loving this project.

28mm Achaemenid Persians : Heavy Cavalry

The Persian army needs one heavy cavalry unit for Commands and Colors Ancients. These armored cavalry certainly look well protected, but javelins? No wonder Alex beat them so soundly!

 

28mm Achaemenid Persian Infantry: Archers

Commands and Colors has a great system for skirmishers. They are rarely decisive, but they can harass the enemy and slip easily away. A good player must know how to get the most out of his light troops without losing them.

The more I paint these Old Glory sculpts, the better I like them. I have been putting just a basic paint job on these, but they look great once they are all based and arrayed for battle.

 

28mm Achaemenid Persian Infantry: Kardakes

I need five units of medium infantry for my "Commands and Colors: Ancients" Persian army. These three units from Old Glory, added to the Foundry that Jon gave me for Christmas, complete the list.

I have really been enjoying painting these Old Glory sculpts. The figures really come to life with a little paint on them.

It has also been a ton of fun just painting for myself the past few weeks. I have found a lot of freedom in just painting "good enough" and cranking through the figures.

 

28mm Achaemenid Persian Infantry: Sparabara

Almost all my miniatures games over the past few years have used Commands and Colors Ancients. I have four complete armies for the system: Punic Wars Romans, Carthaginians, Marian Romans, and Gauls.

I have long wanted to game the Greco-Persian-Macedonian wars, and while I find the Greeks and Macedonians fun to paint, the Persians have always daunted me. I have put this off long enough. 2024 is the year I finish forces for Marathon, Thermopylae, Plataea, Granicus, Issus, and Gaugamela.

I bought an Old Glory Army membership and placed the first of many orders. I have always liked Old Glory figures, and the Persians look, to me at least, exactly as they should.

One of the frustrations in painting an Achaemenid Persian army is the near total lack of sources. What did they wear? How were they equipped? We have Herodotus and a few playwrights, and they do not offer much help to the miniatures painter. The Pompeii mosaic gives a limited impression of colors and clothing, but it is from hundreds of years after the Persians fell.

Did the infantry wear uniform colors? No idea. Did their shield patterns match within a unit? No one knows. The immortals probably wore some sort of uniform, but the bulk of the army may have looked more like a feudal levy.

My army will be my best attempt at portraying the field army of an imperial power. I choose to field infantry with uniform clothing and shields. I choose to go with the pastel color palette of the Pompeii mosaic. Feel free to quibble with my interpretation of the very limited sources!

Commands and Colors scenarios depict most Persian infantry as "auxilia." In game terms, auxilia are a hybrid between skirmishers and battle line infantry. They can move quickly, engage in missile combat, and fight with a limited capability in close combat. That sounds exactly how most historians view Persian sparabara, who used a front line of spearmen to shield a rear line of archers.

In the official scenarios, the maximum number of Persian auxilia needed are nine. I had enough to field twelve units, so I went ahead and did that. Here we have 192 figures in shades of sherbet, ready to take on the Greek and Macedonian heavy infantry. Brave fellows.