It's by now pretty well known that there were considerable numbers of regular foot soldiers in the Sasanian army. It's only list-writers who are still stuck in the 70s who haven't caught up. I wrote a serious of articles for Slingshot which covered Sasanian armies, including one on footsoldiers. The barracks held elephants and cavalry as well as axemen etc.
"As has become increasingly clear, border fortresses and walls were an integral part of the Sasanian military system, and of the Parthians. Excavations at the Red Snake demonstrate the extent and scale of the border fortifications. The barracks could hold several thousand troops in the largest fortresses, and stable blocks were sufficiently large to hold elephants if necessary.
Baladuri describes the fortification of al-Baylakan. Barda'a and Kabala by Kawad I, he also tells how he later erected a wall of brick extending from Sirwan in the East to the pass of Bab al-Lan (the 'Pass of the Alans').
Al-Fakih describes the fortification by Khusra (Kisra) of the town of al-Bab wa'l-Abwab (later Derbend), al-Sabiran and Maskat.
Similarly to the Roman Limes, extensive fortifications were clearly part of the Sasanian military system. Given the huge investment in resources to build such systems it only makes sense if either these fortifications were permanently manned or alternatively could be garrisoned at short notice on the approach of the enemy. The literary evidence from later accounts suggests that not unlike the Roman Auxilia, these were soldiers deliberately settled to man the fortifications in the event of emergencies.
On the accession of Shapur II:
"Among the matters they (secretaries & viziers) brought to his notice was the position of troops along the frontiers and those directly facing enemies there, for news had arrived that the greater part of them had been reduced to a sorry state. ..He ordered a letter to be sent to the whole of these troops, stating that he had learned about how long they had been stationed in those regions of the provinces where they were, and about the intensity of their deprivation of their dependants & brothers. Hence whosoever wished to return to his family was free to do so..whosoever wished to complete the rest of his service by remaining steadfast at his post, that would be reckoned to him favourably."
Tabari
From this we can see that there were bodies posted to the frontiers at the command of the state, far distant from their families. At least some of the troops engaged were paid. As has been seen above they were entitled to no less than 100 dirhams at review. In support of this we also have:
"Balash's soldiers despised him because he did not have the money to support them, and the magi also hated him because he was annulling their laws and wanted to build municipal baths for bathing. When they saw the military thought nothing of him, they seized him and put out his eyes, and raise up in his stead Kawad,the son of Peroz his brother."
Al-Baladuri also refers to a kind of people called al-Siyasikin made to dwell in the fortifications. Al-Fakih describes how Khusrau's (Kisra's) wall extended seven farsahs and how he made in these seven passages (gates) and over each he set a town in which he placed Persian warriors called al-Siyasikin. Al-Masudi in "Murug al-Dahab" describes them using the so-called Siyawardi battle-axes.
Various interpretations of these names have been presented, but Kramers by comparison of the various terms concludes that this is a translation of 'nisastag', Middle Persian for 'somebody who has been made to dwell in a certain place' or ‘garrison warrior'.
The type of troops forming garrisons is not made explicit in any of the material that has come down to us, but by extension from Procopius' comment that every man was an archer, and the large spearheads found in numbers at Qas-I –al Nasr it suggests a mix of archers and spearmen. Sadly, we haven't yet had any finds of Siyawardi axes. "
paints the prototypes for the Eureka Amazon Army.
