Philip inherited a decimal organisation for
his army, with men grouped in units of ten. He changed that to a system based
on 16, though he kept the old name of dekas to describe each of these units - a
fact that has caused great confusion. This dekas was the basis of pezhetairoi
organisation both on the march and in battle. In camp, each dekas shared a camp
fire, cooking utensils and rations. The tents of the dekas were pitched close
to each other in two rows facing the fire.
Each dekas was led by a man called a
dekadarch, who was paid twice as much as the others. He seems to have been
responsible for ensuring that his men kept their equipment in good condition
and for reporting any lapses of discipline to an officer. There was also a man
called a dimoirites and two called dekastateros, whose duties seem to have been
restricted to the battlefield.
Each dekas also had a slave and, at least some
of the time, a mule or packhorse. This man and his animal were responsible for
transporting the equipment needed by the 16 men. This included the tents, the
cooking gear, a bowl and cloak for each man, an earthenware pot in which was
carried smouldering embers to light the campfire and enough food for up to 10
days.
The pezhetairoi were organised into units,
known as lochos, each of which was composed of 32 dekas, or 512 men plus a
trumpeter, a signaller and four or more officers. The senior officer is thought
to have been mounted so that he could see over the heads of his men.
This lochos was the smallest formation available to
the pezhetairoi phalanx. On an administrative level it was the basis for the
issuing of pay and supplies and was the smallest unit over which a nobleman had
command.
No comments:
Post a Comment