Ancient Light Infantry

This chapter marks the beginning of a three stage revision of my original thesis chapter on Alexander the Great's battle against the Persians at Gaugamela.
When the original Honour's thesis was written I did not have time to adequately address the issues around the Persian side of the battle.  I am looking to correct that, now.
In this chapter I have attempted to reconcile the conflict in our sources regarding the composition of the Persian army at Gaugamela, starting with three critical lists in our sources - two in Arrian and one in Curtius.
In the process I have also begun to restructure the whole work, with Section 3 devoted wholly to Gaugamela.  Chapter 7 will concentrate on the deployment of the Persian Army, while Chapter 8 will consider the Macedonian deployment and the course of the battle.

This is the first part of Chapter 1 of my Honours thesis (1980). It begins with a brief discussion of basic military principles and of relevant tactical unit types. A much more detailed discussion of the function of Light Infantry, including a discussion of the types used by Alexander III follows. With respect to the army of Alexander the Great, special reference is made to the Agrianians and Cretan Archers.