Army of the Cyropaedia

This post covers my DBA and HOTT versions of the army of Cyrus the Great, as portrayed in Xenophon’s Cyropaedia.

My DBA Cyropaedia army

In his Cyropaedia, Xenophon described Cyrus the Great's army from the (quite historical) battle of Thymbra (547 BCE) where Cyrus defeated King Croesus of Lydia.

The Battle of Thymbra

Xenophon is far from a contemporary and his description of this battle ascribes Cyrus' a number of quirky troop types including a camel corps, war-towers and scythed chariots, thus making his account more mythical than historical. That said, the army is a whole lot of fun.

My HOTT Cyropaedia army

To see my DBA Early Achaemenid Persian army, head here:

DBA I/60ac Early Achaemenid Persians

My version of the HOTT Cyropaedia army differs from the Kyropaedia list in the rule book in a couple of areas. Namely, Cyrus is exclusively a hero general, Abradatus is a Knight not a Paladin and I’ve included an option for a Sneaker element.

Here’s my Cyropaedia list for HOTT: 

Hero General (Cyrus the Great) @ 4 AP X 1 

Shooters (Immortals/Sparabara) @ 2 AP X 4 

Riders (Persian cavalry) @ 2 AP X 2 

Knight (Abradatus in scythed chariot) @ 2AP X 1 

Knights (Camelry) @ 2 AP X 1 

Artillery (Mobile tower) @ 3 AP X 1 

Hordes (Levy foot) @ 1 AP X 1 

Alternatives:

Sneakers General (Gobryas and Gadatas) @ 3 AP X 1 

Riders (Subject cavalry) @ 2 AP X 1 

This list covers the army of Cyrus the Great, as described in Xenaphon’s apocryphal Cyropaedia.

I've posted links to specific posts that explain my thinking where my HOTT list differs from the one in the HOTT rule book.

Cyrus the Hero General Explainer:

Cyrus the Greatest

Cyrus the DBA King of King's in his chariot:

The DBA Immortals and Sparabara 

aka HOTT shooters:

Up close and personal:

DBA cavalry / HOTT riders:

Abradatus the Knight Explainer:

Good Knight Abradatus

Gobryas and Gadatas:

Sneaky Sneakers

Cyrus' improvised camelot corps

DBA camels / HOTT knights:

The siege towers

DBA war wagon / HOTT artillery:

I had to make the upper crew detachable so the tower could fit in my army box

Some levy foot horde:

Some Paphlagonians, DBA 3Ax:

Some Caspians, DBA Ps:

I’ve also created a set of Mythological Achaemenid lists which cover the Persians from Cyrus the Great up to the fall of the empire that blend in Iranian mythology. I’ll be posting about them soon.

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