Macedonian swords set against history

As mentioned in an earlier post (see: Alexander’s battle outfit), the Macedonians basically used two types of swords. The straight sword with a double-edged blade, which was most popular, was about 60-70 cm long. The blade was exceptionally efficient because of the swelling toward the sword’s tip. It added weight and momentum to each blow. It was used by cavalry and infantry alike, as it functioned for hacking and stabbing. 

The kopis, or saber-shaped sword with the crooked hilt, was less common. The blade was 40-60 cm long, and only the curved side had a cutting edge. The kopis was more effective for fights on horseback since the rider could deliver a heavy blow from above. 

Sources tell us that the Cyprian King of Citium (ancient Larnaca) gave Alexander a masterly executed sword, which was exceptionally light and well-tempered (see: The role of Cyprus in Alexander’s campaign). 

Quality swords were widespread among Alexander’s commanders and even common troops. Several memorable encounters have been reported by our historians. The most striking one was when Cleitus, with a single blow, severed the arm and shoulder of a Persian attacking Alexander at the Granicus. The Paeonian cavalry leader Ariston used his sword to behead the Persian leader Satropates during a skirmish near the Tigris River. 

The kopis were handled by the Macedonians at the Hydaspes to slash at the elephants’ trunks. Ptolemy drove his sword through the thigh of a local chief during the Indian expedition, and Alexander cut off the hand of his Arab assassin with one stroke of his sword during the siege of Gaza. The Macedonian tradition of handling weapons with high cutting capacity is still alive in 276 BC when King Pyrrhus inflicted such a blow to his adversary that he cleaved his opponent in two parts, falling to either side! 

Now we may wonder where and how all these swords were made. Cyprus was known for its quality weaponry, but did the artisans accompany the Macedonians into Asia, or did they train a selected number of people in this specific craftsmanship? Either theory is plausible. 

There is, however, the case of Porus’ gift. After the Battle of the Hydaspes, King Porus gave Alexander a precious sword. This story leads us to another source, Wootz Steel (the name is a corruption of ‘ukku’), a well-kept secret amongst the metallurgists in India. The name first appeared when Alexander received a gift of over 2500 kg of ‘white iron’, a kind of steel that originated in India millennia before reaching Europe. 

Wootz steel is a type of crucible steel made using a clay crucible. The vessel was closed and heated for several days to a temperature of 1300-1400 degrees Celsius. In the process, the quality of the product acquired high ductility, high impact strength, and reduced brittleness. After a slow cooling, the Wootz ingots were ready. Archaeologists discovered an industrial steel center from around the 3^rd century BC in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. 

How was this new technology received in the Macedonian camp? It is hard to imagine that Alexander did not explore or use the possibilities of this Wootz steel. He always was a ringleader when confronted with new inventions and improvements in warfare. The next time we hear about this revolutionary steel is that Indians had a monopoly over the production and export of Wootz steel from the 3^rd to the 17^th century, reaching from the Roman Empire in the West to China in the East. 

In the Middle Ages, Damascus became the main supplier of the famous Damascene swords, which is only another name for weaponry made using Wootz steel. 

By the 8^th century, manufacturing in India had spread throughout Central Asia, where the Vikings had established trade posts to exchange their furs and slaves over Eurasia. Hoards of Arab dirhams have been found in Scandinavia, documenting these trades. As a result, by the 9^th century, the Vikings produced high-quality Ulfberht swords, made of crucible steel known as Wootz steel. 

[Picture from Ulfbeht sword - Credits: Secrets of the Viking sword]

The blades of Viking swords were generally 70 to 90 centimeters long and 5-6 centimeters wide. The so-called Ulfberht swords carried the inscription +VLFBERH+T, which may be linked to some religious invocation rather than the maker’s signature. The earliest known specimen was created in the 9^th century and was one of the heaviest (1.9 kg) and longest (102 cm) Viking swords. It is exhibited at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo. Another surviving example is the sword of Saint Stephen from the 10^th century, which was the coronation sword of the Hungarian King Stephen. It still has its walrus-tooth hilt. 

The so-called Lincoln sword from the same era is one of only two known swords bearing the inscription +LEUFRIT, also made of crucible (most probably Wootz) steel. It was found near Monks Abbey in Lincolnshire, UK, in 1848. 

It is noteworthy that the science behind the production of Wootz steel was only understood in the 20^th century! From a technological point of view, this means that the metallurgists of ancient India were far, really far ahead of their time! 

Unfortunately, history has, to my knowledge, not linked the weaponry from Cyprus to the Wootz steel swords made in India. Consequently, we still don’t know how Alexander acted and reacted to Porus’ highly prized gift. I can’t imagine that Alexander did nothing to explore this newly acquired knowledge.

The role of Cyprus in Alexander’s campaign

Because of its copper mines, Cyprus was famous for producing armor, swords, and other objects in bronze since early antiquity. Another richness of the island was its shipbuilding and its navy, which made it the envy of many nations and kings. Besides, the island occupies a strategic position for those conquerors who aimed to control Asia Minor and Egypt. 

With more or less success, the Persians ruled over Cyprus since the 6th century BC. This situation changed after Alexander’s battle at Issus and his victorious campaigns on the coast of Asia Minor, Syria, and Phoenicia. The Cypriots realized that sooner or later, the Macedonian king would occupy their island too. They decided to make their fleet, which hitherto had been at the service of the Persians, available to Alexander. In exchange, they acquired their political independence. 

It is probably around this time that the King of Citium (the ancient name for Larnaca) gave Alexander a masterly executed sword, which Plutarch described as exceptionally light and well-tempered (see: Alexander’s battle outfit) 

As Alexander approached Tyre in 332 BC, he was not welcome to enter the city. He had no choice but to lay siege to Tyre, which was situated on an offshore island. This would not stop Alexander, who built a mole of 750 meters to connect the island to the mainland. All that time, the Tyrenians continued to defend their city by all means available. Besides, they received help from the sea as the Persian fleet had free access to both the north and south harbors. 

Since Alexander’s own reduced fleet was no match against the Persians, he called upon his allies to assist him. Eighty Phoenician triremes arrived along with nine from Rhodes, three from Soli and Mallus, ten from Lycia, and fifty-oared vessels from Macedonia joined in. Cyprus dispatched 120 warships, a substantial number to efficiently swell Alexander’s naval force. With his fleet in position, the king was ready to launch his joint land and naval operation, and he successfully captured Tyre. He thus ended a siege that had lasted for nine months. 

The seafaring experience of the Cypriots was a precious asset for Alexander, even during his later campaigns. He cut the ships into manageable sections and hauled them overland all the way to India. More than anywhere else, the crafts were handy to cross the many rivers of the Punjab and their tributaries. When the king decided to sail down the Indus to the Outer Ocean, he had his engineers (many of them from Cyprus) build ships of different sizes and shapes to transport troops and animals downstream. Shipbuilders and rowers from Egypt, Phoenicia, and Caria joined the Cypriot forces to create this flotilla led by the specially appointed admiral Nearchus. 

After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Cyprus fell under Ptolemaic rule and eventually became fully Hellenized. 

[Picture from Heritage Daily, credit Anna Kubicka] 

Today, archaeologists have discovered a unique rock-cut banqueting site in Paphos. It is located close to a temple near the top of Fabrika Hill. Such a place would be used to share the meat of the animals sacrificed on the adjacent monumental altar. Such rituals were common in Cyprus and in other Mediterranean cultures like the Nabataeans in Petra, Jordan. However, this is the first such example unearthed in Cyprus. Religious banquets in the open air are usually held in semi-circular constructions and present a round depression in the center to drain the libations in honor of the gods. 

So far, archaeologists have not been able to identify with certainty which God was worshiped, but Aphrodite is the most likely candidate since she was born from the sea, not far from Paphos. The banqueting site and the temple were used from the 2nd century BC onward. The city, however, was founded earlier, sometime during the 4^th century BC. It was abandoned probably after the earthquake of circa 150 AD.

Alexander’s battle outfit

Except for the famous mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, now on display at the Archaeological Museum of Naples (see: The Alexander mosaic), we have no picture of Alexander’s outfit. Although this mosaic gives only a partial view and is made two centuries after his death, it is the closest we can get to visualizing the details.

True, there are a few equestrian bronzes of Alexander that were copied from one and the same original that once stood in the sanctuary of Dion. The Alexander figure belonged to a group of at least 25 Companion cavalry who died during the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC. This memorial in honor of the dead was erected upon the king’s instruction and occupied a place of honor for some four hundred years. In 148 BC, when Macedonia was reduced to a mere Roman province, Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus moved the group to Rome. It has been argued that the monument was part of Alexander’s propaganda campaign and was recognized as such by the Romans.

Plutarch is the only author from antiquity to give us a detailed description of Alexander’s outfit. He speaks of the king wearing a coat of Sicilian make. Over that coat, he wore a tight girth and a corselet of thickly quilted linen. In the mosaic, Alexander seems to wear a long-sleeved garment underneath his breastplate, but the image is too garbled to make it out. David Karunanithy (see: The Macedonian War Machine) states that the tunic, which now appears as faded purple-grey, was once deep purple. This is very credible since the king reportedly wore purple for everyday use. By extension, a purple tunic does not look out of place.

The mosaic also shows Alexander wearing a cloak that is held in place by a round gold fibula. This cloak has been recognized as a long antique epiporpoma.  It was made by a certain Helicon and given to him by the citizens of Rhodes as a mark of their respect. The belt Alexander wore in all engagements was from the same origin. It showed much richer craftsmanship than the rest of his outfit and was probably adorned with precious stones.

[Picture from the movie Alexander by Oliver Stone]

The linen corselet apparently was taken as war booty after the Battle of Issus, but Plutarch does not tell us who the original owner was. This linothorax carries strong Greek features, meaning that it may have belonged to someone fighting with the Allied Greek army, or it may have been taken from one of the Greek mercenaries in Persian service. The face of the Gorgon as depicted on Alexander’s corselet on the mosaic is rather cute and animated. He seems to take part in the attack with his eyes turned towards the action.

Alexander’s helmet, which is totally absent from the mosaic, was another eye-catcher. His entire army, as well as his enemies, knew exactly where he was because of his ostentatious headgear. It is very probable that the king had more than one conspicuous helmet, but in all cases, Alexander had to be seen from afar. At least one of his helmets was created by Theophilus, clearly an expert maker otherwise unknown. It was made of iron so thoroughly polished that it looked like silver. It was fitted to a gorget made of the same material, set with precious stones.

On the battlefield, Alexander was recognizable by this characteristic helmet that had large plumes of white feathers attached to either side of the crest. We’ll remember how during the Battle of the Granicus, Spithridates hit the king’s helmet with his battle-axe, cutting off the crest and one of the plumes. The blow barely missed his scalp. It is obvious that under these circumstances, Alexander needed another helmet. It had to be consistent with the image he had projected so far. The two distinctive white plumes that set him apart from other commanders and generals in the field were a must.

In the mosaic, Alexander is handling a spear, and his sword is still sheathed. Plutarch described the sword as exceptionally light and well-tempered. It was a masterpiece given to him by the King of Citium on the island of Cyprus. By the 4^th century BC, Cyprus had a long-established history of talented armorers.

The Macedonians basically used two forms of swords. The straight sword with a double-edged blade was the most popular. On average, it was about 60-70 cm long and had a cruciform hilt, usually made of bone or wood. Some fine specimens had ivory handles enhanced with gold or silver decorations. The blade was exceptionally efficient because of the swelling toward the sword’s tip. It added weight and momentum to each blow. It was particularly indicated to hit the enemy with downward strokes, causing more severe injuries. Another advantage of the straight sword was that it could be used by cavalry and infantry alike, as it functioned as well for hacking and stabbing.

The kopis, or saber-shaped sword with the crooked hilt, was less common. The blade was 40-60 cm long, and only the curved inside had a cutting edge. Xenophon tells us that the kopis was more effective for fights on horseback since the rider could deliver a heavy blow from above.

During his lifetime, Alexander added several foreign or Asian features to his outfit and battledresses as he moved further east.

Over the centuries, artists and movie-makers have fitted Alexander according to their inspiration, influenced by the fashion of their own time. Modern archaeology, especially from grave finds, has revealed many pictures of Macedonian soldiers and commanders. Nowadays, it is easier to recreate a more faithful image of Alexander’s outfit, although the entire picture will always elude us.