Assyrians (= Babylonians) in the Persian army (1)

Text
Herodotus describes the equipment of the Assyrians (= Babylonians) in the army of Xerxes, and explains that while the Greeks call them “Syrians,” the barbarians (= non-Greeks) call them “Assyrians”.

Herodotus 7.63:
The Assyrians in the army wore on their heads helmets of twisted bronze made in an outlandish fashion not easy to describe. They carried shields and spears and daggers of Egyptian fashion, and also wooden clubs studded with iron, and they wore linen breastplates. They are called by the Greeks Syrians, but the foreigners called them Assyrians. With them were the Chaldeans. Their commander was Otaspes son of Artachaees.

Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Herodotus 7.63

Links (external links will open in a new browser window)
W. W. How, J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus, Book 7, chapter 63 (Perseus)
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Robert Whiting

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