Ancient Iberian Warriors

The Warriors of Ancient Spain

Sep 25, 2009 Grant Sebastian Nell

The Iberians were in great demand as mercenaries throughout the western mediterranean. They were a tribal people, and Iberian men valued martial prowess above all.

Iberian warriors wore a woolen tunic, girt at the waist with a broad belt. The hem of the tunic was often dyed purple. Armour was usually only worn by noblemen and included mail, leather, lamellar and quilted variants. Some warriors wore armour woven from tough grasses. They protected their heads with bronze helmets, and many tribesmen wore highly distinctive headgear made from sinew.

Iberian Infantry

Ancient Roman writers made two distinctions between Iberian infantry; scutarii carried the broad oval shield (scutum) and generally fought as heavy infantry, whilst caetrati used a circular leather buckler (caetra).

Most warriors used spears as their primary weapons - some carried spears and javelins. The Gladius Hispaniensis was a short stabbing sword which was so devastatingly effective that Rome eventually duplicated the design and made it the primary melee weapon of her legionaries. Another fearsome sword, the falcata, was a recurved sabre that was especially popular with Iberian warriors. It was easily capable of crushing helmets and lopping off limbs, and the sword skills of Iberian warriors made them fearsome opponents. Most warriors also carried a broad triangular dagger.

Balearic Slingers

Slingers from the Balearic Islands were famed for their skill. They commenced training at a very early age - their fathers would place a piece of bread atop a pole, and the child was not allowed to eat until he had knocked it down with a successful shot from his sling. Balearic slingers used three slings of different lengths - some hurled small but deadly projectiles of baked clay or lead from long range, whilst others hurled fist-sized rocks at closer quarters.

The Iberians also achieved great renown as horsemen. In fact, such was the repute of Spanish warriors that they formed a large part of Hannibal Barcas mercenary army in the 2nd Punic War.

Iberian Tactics and Training

Their tactics emphasised raids and swift ambushes, followed by rapid withdrawals into wild and broken terrain. All who faced the Iberians found their methods of waging war unnerving. If forced into open battle, they fought in a loose, non-linear formation, attacking and withdrawing, making feints and then attacking somewhere else. This could apparently go on for days.

Training started early in a warriors youth, and skills were honed in raids on neighbouring tribes and the performance of gymnastic exercises. Being a proud people, warriors frequently settled disputes between themselves with honour duels, which often ended with the death of one of the combatants. If facing capture, many warriors took lethal poison rather than fall into the hands of enemies: extracted from the plant Ranunculus sardonia, it caused the dead man's lower jaw to set in a rictus resembling a sardonic grin -an especially unnerving sight.

Iberians served in the armies of Carthage, and later in Rome's legions.

Sources:

Rome and Her Enemies Edited by Jane Penrose Foreword by Tom Holland, Osprey (2005)

Warfare in the Classical World by John Warry, University of Oklahoma Press, (1995)

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