inflated number. Around 100 years later, when Seuthes III confronted Lysimachus, the numbers had shrunk to 28.000 men. A considerable part of these armies were horsemen. Of Sitalces' army, every third warrior was a horseman, who were provided by the Odrysians and the Getae, while the army of Seuthes III had 8.000 riders, probably all Odrysians. The majority of Sitalces' infantry was described as being of rather low quality and was certainly composed of ill-organized levies. It therefore appears that warfare remained a heroic pursuit worthy only of the aristocracy, while military training for the commoners was considered unfitting. Despite this, the Thracian infantry made a great impression on the Greeks, who hired them as mercenaries. Meanwhile, the Odrysian kings made use of Greek mercenary commanders like Xenophon or Iphicrates, while Greek towns inside Thrace were defended by the colonists themselves. Initially, the Odrysian army was divided into light infantry and light cavalry. The infantry used bows, slings, spears, swords, axes and light crescent-shaped shields called pelte, giving these warriors their name: "peltasts". Round and oval shields were, however, also utilized. A weapon primarily found in the western and central Rhodoes was the Rhomphaia. Except of slings, the cavalry used the same weapons as the infantry. In the later 5th century the Thracian cavalry began to adopt armour. The employed helmets were of the Chalcidian, Phrygian / Thracian and Corinthian types, of which the Chalcidian type seems to have been the most popular. The earliest torso armour was a type of primitive muscle cuirass of cylindrical form that had long fallen out of use elsewhere. Leather and linen armour was also worn. In the 4th century scale armour became popular, while greaves were also adopted at that time. Finally, there is also evidence that the Thracians employed siege artillery, in particular catapults. Culture Odrysian crafts and metalworking were largely a product of Persian influence. Thracians as Dacians and Illyrians all decorated themselves with status-enhancing tattoos. Thracian warfare was affected also by Celts and the Triballi had adopted Celtic equipment. Thracian clothing is regarded for its quality and texture and was made up of hemp, flax or wool. Their clothing resembled that of the Scythians including jackets with coloured edges, pointed shoes and the Getai tribe were so similar to the Scythians that they were often confused with them. The nobility and some soldiers wore caps. There was a mutual influence