Hannibal's Libyan Infantry

[Al Amos]

Here is my approach.

For what-if or, table-top battles, I like to make a simple phalanx, based on the Macedonian model.

On each line is the best Phoenician terms I could find (or piece together) for unit labels, followed by what the units represent followed by type. Hope this helps.

Phalangitai Kena'ani - Phoenician phalanx - HI or MI w/spear or pike. (These are true Carthaginian citizens of Phoenician blood line.)

Phalangitai Libyes - Lybian phalanx - HI or MI w/spear or pike.
(These are the natives of the area conquered by Carthage. This would be the most common type of Phalangitai.)

- I put the above into 256 man units (syntagma). 16 of these blocks make the main phalanx. I add 5 leaders to them, I make one group. The additional leaders allows players to split the phalanx into four groups of four if they wish. Total: 4,096.

Lonchophoroi Libyes Kena'ani - Lybian/Phoenician LMI w/spear or javelin. (Carthage's verision of a peltast. These would be the mixed blood of natives in the area and Phoenicians. Using this type at Trebbia definitely shows why the Roman velites could not 'win' the skirmish battle.)

I make 16 units of 128 men for this type. Total: 2,048 They can cover the enitre front of the phalanx or be deployed with eight units on each flank. I add four leaders and group them into four groups of four units.

Grosphomachoi Mauretaniani - Moorish Skirmishers - LI w/spear or javelin. (These would be native North Africans tribesmen to the west of Carthage.)

I put these guys into 16 units of 64 men, or sometimes I split the 16 units in half, and field 32 counters of 32 men. I add four leaders and make four groups of either four units, or eight half units. They fight in front of the Lonchophoroi. If I am going to deploy the Lonchophoroi to the flanks of the Phalangitai, then I use the hald units and cover the whole front. Total: 1,024.

I add 1,024 cavalrymen to the phalanx. I put 64 men in 16 units. I add four leaders and make four units. Two per flank.

This gives you:
4,096 Phalangitai
2,048 Lonchophoroi (peltasts)
1,024 Grosphomachoi (psloi)
1,024 Hippikè or Prodromoi (HC, MC or LC)
8,192 TOTAL

A couple of other unit labels with my definition.

Hippikè Libyes Kena'ani - Lybian/Phoenician cavalry
Prodromoi Lorci - light cavalry (Not Numidian)

The Numidian tribes were:
Massyli - Masaeyli - Maccoei - Areacidae

Also there were the Gaetulians. A tribe like the Numidians that supplied LC to Carthage.

Carthage had two 'sacred bands'. I think they were destroyed in battle during the 1st PW.

For the infantry: Hieros lochos Baal
I'm not sure of the strength but was supposedly like the Theban sacred band, so 300 men?

For the cavalry: Hieros lochos Astarte
Not sure, 300 men, maybe?

The above numbers work nicely with Hannibal having seven such 'complete phalanxes' with him before he left Spain. I chose seven because at the time that the Spartan general reorganized Carthage's army during the 1st PW, Sparta had seven mora in its army, so maybe the Spartan copied that idea in Carthage, and maybe Hannibal used that as a model. I had a nice doc made up, but lost it this summer with my computer's meltdown. If anyone on the design team has a copy... ;-)