almost invariably part of any force on detached duty, especially missions requiring speed of movement. Peltasts were armed with a number of javelins and a sword, carried a light shield but wore no armour, though they sometimes had helmets; they were adept at skirmishing and were often used to guard the flanks of more heavily equipped infantry. They usually adopted an open order when facing enemy heavy infantry. They could throw their javelins at will at the enemy and, unencumbered by armour or heavy shields, easily evade any counter-charges made by heavily equipped hoplites. They were, however, quite vulnerable to shock-capable cavalry and often operated to particular advantage on broken ground where cavalry was useless and heavy infantry found it difficult to maintain formation. History They are first mentioned regarding Megabazus' campaign in 511 BC. In 429 BC they were subject to the Odrysian kingdom and later, as early as 352 BC, they became allies of Philip II of Macedonia. They fought under king Langarus with the Macedonians against the Triballians in 335 BC and succeeded in protecting the lands of Alexander and were thus rewarded with the right to govern themselves, a move that led to a long-lasting and most reliable alliance. At the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC), during Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia, their contingent of peltasts numbered 1,000 men. During the time of the Seleucid Empire, a crack unit of Antiochus' Agrianes was brigaded together with Persians at Raphia. Contingents from the Agrianes and the Penestae, numbering 800 and 2,000 men respectively, were a part of the garrison of Cassandreia at the time of the Third Macedonian War. See also Peltast Osogovo References Bibliography Ashley, J.R. (2004) The Macedonian Empire: The Era of Warfare Under Philip II and Alexander the Great, 359-323 B.C. McFarland. Connolly, P. (1981) Greece and Rome at War. Macdonald Phoebus, London. Sidnell, P. (2006) Warhorse: Cavalry in Ancient Warfare, Continuum, London. Viktorija Sokolovska, Pajonskoto Pleme Agrijani i vrskite so Damastion, Macedonia acta Archaeologica 11, Skopje 1990, 9-34. (with summary in French). Viktorija Sokolovska, The Coinage of Agrianes, MACEDONIAN NUMISMATIC JOURNAL no. 2, Skopje 1996, 13-22. Viktorija Sokolovska, Materijalna kultura Agrijana, Patrimonium Mk no. 16, Skopje 2018, 79-102. External links Ancientbattles.com - Agrianians Paeonia (kingdom) Ancient tribes in Serbia Ancient tribes in Bulgaria Ancient tribes in Macedonia Military personnel of Alexander the Great Paeonian tribes