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pontic army resources?
Posted: Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:59 pm
by footslogger
I've been looking around but perhaps not in the right places. I'm trying to find some descriptions of what Mithridates armies looked like and haven't been able to find anything. Is there a book?
Re: pontic army resources?
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 4:43 pm
by hazelbark
I think Armies and enemies of Rome or one of those old WRG type books from the 80s.
I think there is a lot of supposition that the army was essentially a variation of mesopotamia, Greek and and steepe influence.
Re: pontic army resources?
Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:09 pm
by stecal
this thread on TMP is what I used to purchase the figures for my army. Jeff Jonas & Allen Curtis know their stuff
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=55024
with the upcoming V2 changes to allow Imitation Legionaries to, you know, actually imitiate Legionaries by being armored swordsmen I am looking forward to fielding Mithridates' army again. Lately it has been imitating Seluecids - "all superior, all the time".
Re: pontic army resources?
Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:14 pm
by madaxeman
Re: pontic army resources?
Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 11:36 pm
by helot2000
I painted up a Pontic army this spring and treated it as an amalgamation of East meets West like Hazelbark mentioned. This link takes you to the overview of my Pontic project with a review of 2 books on Mithridates:
http://twincitiesfieldofglory.blogspot. ... chive.html
Under the Pontic Army label on my blog, you'll find the Xyston figs I painted up for my Rhoxolani, Skythians, and Arachosian cavalry along with a Scythed Chariot, Thureophoroi, Paphlagonian Javelinmen, Bastarnae, Phalangite Pike and Galatians. The Pontics were the Swiss Army Knife of the ancient world and one of my all time favorite projects.
Good luck and have fun with it!
Re: pontic army resources?
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:56 am
by Eques
I couldn't find many books but read Mithridates the Great: Rome's Indomitable Enemy by Philip Matyszak (its a general biography but has some snippets of military information).
His army was split into two periods. In the first period (versus Sulla) it was based around phalanxes and after that on Imitation Legionaries.
The book says that the phalanx army was quite heavily pimped up and decked out in fine cloth and precious metals. The Imitation Legionaries were more businesslike (although did not actually come to blows with the Romans in pitched battle).
The archers were largely Greek and Cretan mercenaries.
There are a few good Im Leg. figures on the market (Xyston, Black Hat, Donnington, Irregular)
For the phalanxes I get figures with trousers and deck them out in lots of silver, copper and bronze. Plus swirling, "Persian" style patterns.
For the cavalry I use successor cavalry, again with perhaps brighter colours.
In essence it was a late Seleucid, Hellenistic successor state and that is how I treat it.