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Sarmatians and Alans
These fiercely charging nomads had emerged from Central Asia to carve out domains in Russia and Eastern Europe. Along the way, they contacted, allied with, and made war on many peoples, including the Skythians, Parthians, Germans, Dacians, and of course the Roman Empire. The Alans followed in their wake, and were described by some sources as
wearing a type of pointed cap. Alans used a superior lance-bearing technique to defeat the Parthian cataphracts, and were greatly feared for their initial onslaught. Later they were part of the great wanderings of the peoples at the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and fought both for and against the Romans at this late point.
Some even say that they provided the inspiration for the Arthurian myth, particularly the "Sword in the Stone," which closely resembles Sarmatian/Alan religious practices.
While these horse warriors are described as wearing scale armour of metal or horn, some poorer followers may have been unarmoured. Others skirmished as horse archers. By the first century AD, these peoples had adopted the tubular leather bowcase and quiver, and a more powerful bow, from their Asiatic nomad neighbors, which increasingly
replaced the ancient "gorytos" combination bowcase/quiver. These models reflect that change in archery equipment (but can be used for earlier Sarmatians in a pinch).
Though the brilliance of the Sarmatian and Alan armies lay in the reckless courage of their cavalry, these armies often contained large numbers of infantry as well, either Sarmatian or perhaps conquered subjects (their origin is not certain). These are available as well, both spearmen (with smallish wicker shields) and archers. Alans substituted infantry axemen for the spearmen.
The Alan models have the Skyth cap. While this may have been a mark of the Alans, there's no reason not to mix "Alan" and "Sarmatian" packs for the armies of either, perhaps using more Alan codes for an Alan army and more Sarmatian codes for a Sarmatian army.
Sarmatian girls were said to have needed to have taken an enemy warrior in combat before they could marry -- we had one made and she is available as a bonus in the Sarmatian Deal, called the "Sarmatian Raiding Party."
Range Notes: Please note the Sarmatian Followers and the Sarmatian Infantry Spearmen are provied with the very long Sarmatian kontos. They are cast on. This permits you to trim them down as short as you prefer -- you would cut to preference, crimp the cut end of the spear with pliers, and use hobby snips to trim the crimped end into a spearhead. Very little is known about the Sarmatian spearmen, who may have used a short spear, the same very long spear used by the cataphracts, or something in between. Better too long than not long enough! Also note that the Sarmatian light infantry archers are the same as the Alans but bareheaded, and the Sarmatian cataphracts on unarmoured horses are riding the same horses as the followers and horse archers.
We are considering making early Rhoxolani and Bosporans as well as expansions of this range.
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| Code | Contents | Price (US$) | Order/Progress |
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| sarmatian-command | Sarmatian/Alan Command (one commander on armoured horse, and separate draco to provide to a Sarmatian cataphract in substitution for his lance) | $1.99 | |
| sarmatian-cataphract-arm | Sarmatian/Alan Scale Armoured Lancers, Armoured Horses (x 6) | $9.99 | |
| sarmatian-cataphract-unarm | Sarmatian/Alan Scale Armoured Lancers, Unarmoured Horses (x 6) | $9.99 | |
| sarmatian-followers | Sarmatian Followers on unarmoured horses (see notes above about spears)(x6) | $9.99 | |
| alan-horse-archers | Alan Horse Archers, Unarmoured Horses (x 6) | $9.99 | |
| sarmatian-horse-archers | Sarmatian Horse Archers, Unarmoured Horses (x3) | $4.99 | |
| alan-axemen | Alan Infantry Axemen (x6) | $4.99 | |
| alan-infantry-archers | Alan Infantry Archers (x 6) | $4.99 | |
| sarmatian-infantry-archers | Sarmatian Infantry Archers (x 6) | $4.99 | |
| sarmatian-infantry-spearmen | Sarmatian Infantry Spearmen (see notes above about spears) (x5) | $4.29 | |
| sarmatian-raidinng-party | Sarmatian Raiding Party (one commander, one pack of cataphracts on armoured horses, one pack of cataphracts on unarmoured horses, one pack of sarmatian followers, one pack of sarmatian light infantry archers, and
one free headhunting unmarried girl (shown in image) | $34.99 |
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| asiatic-laager-wagon | Asiatic Nomad Wagon for Laager Defense around camp (or can act as baggage wagon) with optional separate tent top | $7.99 | |
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