"Achaemenid Heavy Cav -- 3 part question" Topic

What would heavy cavalry under Xerxes or Darius III have looked like? Hail Caesar gives the Persians such units, which surprised me because when I think Heavy Cav, I think of metal armor and maybe even barding. Can you provide a link to a picture of the heaviest horsemen of the period?

Part 2: who makes a good Achaemenid heavy cavalry model in 28mm scale? My early favorite would be sergeant major minis, but I want to pull your collective wisdom before i put money to it?

Part 3: Sometimes I favor coolness over historicity, so if you know of a beautiful 25 or 28mm heavy cavalry unit that isn't quite Achaemenid Persian, but could pass as one, or one that comes from a region that would have been assimilated by the Empire, like an Assyrian or Indian, please link me to that. Especially if he is clad in scale armor. I love painting scale armor.

Thanks!

And as long as we're talking, would you expect to see much bronze in the weapons and/or armor of Achaemenids, or had they converted entirely to iron by the time they clash with Greece?

1 Persian heavy cavalry had metal armor. Sometimes armor was hidden under clothes. Some eastern satrapies even had armored cavalry on barded horses. Scroll down a bit for the painting of what such cavalry could of looked like: link

2 1st corps also makes various heavy cavalry types for Persians. Also, look at their Successor range for eastern extra heavy types. OG has 1 pack of extra heavies as well. SM figures are probably a bit larger or bulkier than most other manufacturers and I am not sure if 1st corps or other manufacturers such as Old Glory will mix with SM.

3 Check Eureka Amazon heavy cavalry for alternative to Persian. They are historically plausible and may come from north-eastern part of Persia or what is now south Ukraine. Great figures, women and horses clad in scale armor link Again, I am not sure they will mix with SM, but possible they will all mix in separate units.

To follow from iwargs post, SM is Sgt Mgr Miniatures (I think). They sell the old Vendel range. I love these miniatures, but they are huge! I have many Macedonians and they dwarf their foundry colleagues. I don't think you can mix them in the same unit, but stand alone units should work fine. I use the bigger phalanx as my elites in my army.
Here is a link to a blog showing a good size comparison, the SM ones are obvious. It also shows several manufacturers cavalry. The old glory look good too.
link

Essex have a nice range of Persians for the period in both 15mm and 25mm.

Xyston 18mm Late Achaemrnid cavalry on partially armored horses are really nice:

Cavalry from the time of Darius I and Xerxes probably did not have horse armor.

Warlord 28mm Early Achaemenid cavalry::

JC

Check out JJ's web site if you are not already familiar with it:

link

Duncan Head's book on the Achaemenid Army, both early and late is a mine of information. Is on line and also I think can still be purchased from Amazon (if you mortgage your house). This version is in b/w but colour images are online.

link

Tin Soldier also make good larger 28mm infantry and cavalry. The Essex 28mm Achaemenids are a tad smaller than other ranges, Essex does a nice 28mm early and later Saka cavalry (in their Bactrian Greek range). Would make unusual but acceptable heavily armoured cavalry. Newline also make some nice (smaller) figures.

If you like painting scale armour check out the armoured horses by Musketeer Miniatures – very nice models. Relic also has just released Seleucid Agema – the armoured horses are fine for later Achaemenids.

Battlestandard is a US company that has a large range, comparable in size to Vendel. Quirky figures that paint up well.

On the Blog noted above (friend of mine as it happens) you can see some of my Achaemenid figures, including Battlestandard and Essex:

link

Plenty of choice out there!

Garry

You think the head of a sagaris would be bronze or iron?

Iron. Most weapons were made of iron now, since the Assyrians introduced it. Most armor was still bronze.

link

More specifically--- these are a mixture of Old Glory, Newline Designs, and Foundry figures on various spare horses gathered through time.

These are representative of later heavy cavalry from 400 BC till Successor times.