Although famed for their cavalry, the Scythians were more than capable of fielding large numbers of infantry.
These miniatures represent Scythian archers armed with their short recurved composite bow of horn, sinew and wood. They could be used either as regular bowmen in Scythian forces or as mercenaries in Persian or Athenian Greek armies.
When the Greeks and Persians met at Marathon in 490 BC, Scythian mercenaries employed by the Athenians refused to fight their Asiatic brothers, and a group even switched sides during the battle – a poor decision given the outcome! The Persian commander, Datis, respected the mercenary archers’ fighting abilities as he positioned them in the Persian centre (a position of honour in any army) were they repaid his trust by breaking the Greek centre.
Of particular note, The Persians were known to have employed Scythian archers to teach their own troops the art of archery.
The Scythians, according to Herotodus, favoured covering their bow cases in the skin from the hands of their enemies due to its whiteness, in addition Scythians would also make drinking cups from the skulls of vanquished enemies…
This pack of Scythian Mercenary Archers is £12 for 8 miniatures.
